Wanted: Those recently diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes to participate in clinical trials

08 Dec Wanted: Those recently diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes to participate in clinical trials

ATLANTIS, Fla. — Bluestar Genomics Inc., an early cancer detection company is initiating clinical trials for early detection of pancreatic cancer and JEM Research, a Headlands Research site in South Florida, is one of the locations taking part.

Dr. David Halpert, at JEM Research, is the principal investigator.

CLINICAL TRIALS: Clinical trial for Alzheimer’s drug, Aducanumab shows promise

Doctors say patients with Type 2 diabetes are almost eight times more likely to develop pancreatic cancer.

“So, there’s a close link between the two of these, so it would be nice if we could get ahead of the game and test patients who have diabetes, relatively new, to see if they are at risk for this,” Halpert said.

Palm Beach County resident Doug Harmueller was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes about 15 years ago.

“I have to take a shot once a night and medication I try to watch what I eat, especially sweets, which is a problem, but other than that, everything else is pretty good,” Harmueller said. “You just learn to cope with that disease.”

He said if this clinical trial was available when he was first diagnosed, he would have participated.

“Absolutely, I think I would have,” Harmueller said. “The more information you get the better off you are.”

The new clinical trial that’s now underway is for early detection of the disease, in newly diagnosed type diabetic patients.

“It is a simple blood test to see if a patient who is newly diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes within the last 90 days has a marker for pancreatic cancer,” Halpert said.

The study is expected to last about a year, offered to patients 50 years or older and diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes within the past 90 days.