Research advances in the epidemiology and mechanism of the association between metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease and pancreatic cancer

Feng ZHANG; Yifan ZHANG; Yulan LIU

doi:10.12449/JCH251026

Volume 41 Issue 10

Oct. 2025

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Article Navigation > Journal of Clinical Hepatology > 2025 > 41(10): 2136-2140

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Research advances in the epidemiology and mechanism of the association between metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease and pancreatic cancer

DOI: 10.12449/JCH251026

Feng ZHANG^{1, 2},
Yifan ZHANG^{1, 2},
Yulan LIU^{1, 2
,
,
,}

1.
Department of Gastroenterology, Peking University People’s Hospital，Beijing 100044，China
2.
Clinical Center of Immune-mediated Digestive Diseases, Peking University People’s Hospital，Beijing 100044，China

Research funding:

Beijing Natural Science Foundation (7242156);

Key Research Project of Capital Health Development Scientific Research Special Program (CFH2024-1-4081);

General Project of National Natural Science Foundation of China (82100579);

Peking University People’s Hospital Scientific Research Development Funds (RDX2022-07)

More Information

Corresponding author: LIU Yulan， liuyulan@pkuph.edu.cn （ORCID： 0000-0001-5026-7828）
Received Date: 2025-03-27
Accepted Date: 2025-04-21
Published Date: 2025-10-25

Abstract

Abstract

Metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease （MAFLD） has a relatively high prevalence rate around the world and is closely associated with the development of various extrahepatic malignancies， among which pancreatic cancer exhibits the highest mortality rate. However， the underlying mechanism between MAFLD and pancreatic cancer remains unclear. This article systematically introduces the latest epidemiological evidence of the association between MAFLD and pancreatic cancer， reviews the research advances in pathogenesis， and evaluates the impact of MAFLD severity and high-risk factors （such as nonalcoholic fatty pancreatic disease and intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm） on the risk of pancreatic cancer. This article points out that insulin resistance， adipokines， and gut dysbiosis may be the key mechanisms of MAFLD promoting the onset of pancreatic cancer， and it also highlights the presence of heterogeneity in current studies. Large-scale prospective cohort studies are needed in the future to further validate the causal relationship and explore more effective strategies for risk stratification.
- Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Fatty Liver Disease,
- Pancreatic Neoplasms,
- Risk Factors,
- Pathologic Processes

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References(32)

References

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Research advances in the epidemiology and mechanism of the association between metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease and pancreatic cancer

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