Study identifies blood glucose as a key pathway linking obesity to pancreatic cancer risk

A new study by researchers from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and Centre Léon Bérard (CLB), Lyon, France, provides novel evidence on how excess adiposity may increase the risk of pancreatic cancer. The study, published in the British Journal of Cancer, found that higher blood glucose levels explained about one fifth of the increased pancreatic cancer risk associated with obesity.

Using data from more than 462 000 adults in UK Biobank, followed up for an average of almost 11 years, the researchers confirmed that both overall adiposity and abdominal adiposity were associated with a higher risk of pancreatic cancer. They then used causal mediation analysis to investigate whether metabolic biomarkers could help explain these associations. Markers of glycaemic control, particularly blood glucose and glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c), accounted for a meaningful proportion of the association between obesity and pancreatic cancer risk.

These findings strengthen the evidence that impaired glucose metabolism may be an important biological pathway through which excess body fat contributes to pancreatic cancer development. The results also underline the potential relevance of obesity prevention and metabolic health for reducing pancreatic cancer risk.

The research was funded by the French National Cancer Institute (INCa) and the German Research Foundation (DFG).

Amadou A, Freisling H, Mercoeur B, Bohmann P, Stein MJ, Noh H, et al.
Anthropometric traits, metabolic biomarkers, and pancreatic cancer risk: a causal mediation analysis in UK Biobank
Br J Cancer. Published online 11 July 2026;
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41416-026-03524-9

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