Prediabetes and the risk of pancreatic cancer: a meta-analysis

Some studies suggested that prediabetes was associated with the risk of pancreatic cancer. However, the results were controversial. Thus, a meta-analysis was conducted to investigate the association between prediabetes and pancreatic cancer risk. PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane database were searched. The association was estimated by hazard ratio (HR) with its 95% confidence interval (CI). 12 studies (n=2983532) were eligible based on the inclusion/exclusion criteria. Prediabetes was significantly associated with the increased risk of pancreatic cancer (HR=1.21, 95% CI 1.13-1.28, P<0.00001; I2=20%). The subgroup analysis on the basis of study design showed that prospective cohort studies (HR=1.19, 95% CI 1.11-1.27, P<0.00001; I2=9%) and nested case-control studies (HR=1.60, 95% CI 1.23-2.07, P=0.0004; I2=0%) had significantly results, respectively. However, retrospective cohort studies showed marginal result (HR=1.36, 95% CI 0.94-1.97, P=0.10; I2=0%). Subgroup analysis was performed according to gender, both male prediabetes patients (HR=1.15, 95% CI 1.07-1.23, P<0.0001; I2=10%) and female prediabetes patients (HR=1.33, 95% CI 1.12-1.57, P=0.001; I2=0%) had increased pancreatic cancer risk. In conclusion, this meta-analysis suggested that prediabetes may be a risk factor of pancreatic cancer.