Type 2 diabetes (T2D) has been linked to an increased risk of cancer in new research published in the Journal of Diabetes.
In the study, researchers from Shanghai Jiao Tong University followed 410,191 men and women with type 2 diabetes, comparing their risk for 23 common types of cancer with that of the general Chinese population. Through the end of the study period in 2017, 8,845 subjects from the initial group had been diagnosed with cancer. Compared to those without type 2 diabetes, men with the condition were found to have a 34% higher risk of cancer, while women had a 62% higher risk.
For men, the risk was increased most for prostate cancer (86% compared to the control group), along with leukemia, skin cancer, thyroid cancer, lymphoma, kidney cancer, liver cancer, pancreatic cancer, lung cancer, colorectal cancer and stomach cancer. For women, the risk was increased most for nasopharyngeal cancer (more than a twofold increased risk), along with cancer of the liver, esophagus, thyroid, lungs, and pancreas, as well as lymphoma, uterine cancer, colorectal cancer, leukemia, breast cancer, cervical cancer and stomach cancer.
Women with type 2 diabetes were found to have a significantly lower risk of gallbladder cancer than those without diabetes.
“These findings have the crucial implication that establishing strategies for cancer-specific regular screening and prevention care among patients with T2D are necessary in clinical practice,” the researchers write.
Want to learn more about type 2 diabetes research? Read “Type 2 Diabetes Research: What’s New?” “Tight Blood Pressure Control Benefits Type 2 Diabetes: Study” and “Low-Carb Breakfast for Diabetes Control.”
