Blood protein levels may flag risk of diabetes and death by cancer, shows study

People with highest levels of prostasin twice as likely to have diabetes and 43% more likely to die from cancer

Doctors have identified a protein in the blood they believe could serve as an early warning sign for patients who are at risk of diabetes and death from cancer.

Researchers in Sweden and China analysed two decades of health records from more than 4,500 middle-aged adults on the Malmo diet and cancer study. They found that those with the highest levels of prostasin, a protein that circulates in the blood, were almost twice as likely to have diabetes than those with the lowest levels.