Hyperglycemia predicts adverse prognosis in advanced pancreatic cancer patients

Background Diabetes mellitus is a prevalent comorbidity in pancreatic cancer. Previous studies have mainly concentrated on the association between diabetes and pancreatic cancer outcomes. However, research on the impact of hyperglycemia on the prognosis of patients with advanced pancreatic cancer is limited. Methods Information on patients with advanced pancreatic cancer was collected from a prospectively maintained database, and the patients were divided into the hyperglycemia group (fasting blood glucose ≥7.0 mmol/L) and the normoglycemia group (fasting blood glucose < 7.0 mmol/L). Patients with preexisting diabetes were not included in these groups. The associations between hyperglycemia and clinical variables or prognosis were analyzed. Results Among 697 patients with advanced pancreatic cancer and no prior history of diabetes, 25.3% were diagnosed with hyperglycemia. Patients older than 65 years had a higher risk of developing hyperglycemia ( P = 0.044). Patients with hyperglycemia had a worse prognosis than those with normoglycemia (median survival, 7.5 vs . 8.8 months, P < 0.001). Hyperglycemia was associated with increased mortality (hazard ratio = 1.38; P = 0.003). Conclusions Hyperglycemia predicts worse overall survival in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer.