Diabetes and Cancer Risk

Via EurekAlert!: "Cancer and diabetes – are risk factors the same for these two diseases? Or does diabetes cause processes in the body which promote the onset or growth of cancer? It is still unclear why diabetics have a higher rate of cancer than people who are not affected by this metabolic disorder. In order to precisely identify the types of cancer in which diabetes plays a role, [researchers carried out] the largest study ever on cancer risks of people with type 2 diabetes. The study included 125,126 Swedish citizens who had been hospitalized due to problems associated with type 2 diabetes. The epidemiologists compared the cancer incidence in these patients with that of the general population in Sweden. ... The researchers discovered that people with type 2 diabetes have an increased risk of developing 24 of the types of cancer studied. The most significant risk elevation was established for pancreatic and liver cell cancers. The rate of these cancers in people with type 2 diabetes is elevated by factor six and 4.25 respectively compared to the general population. The epidemiologists also found the risk of cancers of the kidneys, thyroid, esophagus, small intestine and nervous system to be more than twice as high." Diabetes is a very preventable condition - do the work, and you'll most likely avoid both it and the increased cancer risk that comes with it.

Link: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-05/haog-icr052110.php

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