Diabetes linked to elevated cancer risk
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By David Liu, Ph.D.
A new study in Archives of Internal Medicine found people with type 2 diabetes mellitus are at high risk for cancer.
Manami Inoue MD, PHD and colleagues in Japan analysed data from 46,548 men and 51,223 women aged 40 to 69 years in Japan and found men who had diabetes were 27 percent more likely to be diagnosed with cancer than those who did not have the disease.
Also in men, those with diabetes were 124 %, 85%, 92%, 36% and 23% more likely to be diagnosed with liver cancer, pancreas cancer, kidney cancer, colon cancer, and stomach cancer, compared with those who had no diabetes, respectively.
In women with diabetes, the overall increase in total cancer risk was 21 percent compared with those who had no diabetes. The increase was 61%, 94% and 142% in stomach cancer, liver cancer and ovarian cancer, respectively.
For the study, the researchers followed the participants from Jan 1990 to Dec 1994 through Dec 2003. During the follow-up, 6462 cases of cancer were identified.
It is not certain how diabetes affects the cancer. Some evidence suggests that diabetes treatment may boost the risk. But diabetes per se may also increase the risk. Or both cancer and diabetes may share some common risk factors. For instance, vitamin d deficiency is linked to both higher risk for cancer and diabetes.
An estimated 20 million Americans live with Type 2 diabetes, which has no cure, but can be treated to control blood sugar. Cancer is the number one killer in the U.S., followed by heart disease. Environmental risk factors such as diet are responsible for 90 percent of all cancers while faulty genetics may be responsible for merely 10 percent. In other words, the majority of cancer cases can be prevented.
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