Having Diabetes Increases Cancer Risk

According to a report issued jointly by the American Diabetes Association and the American Cancer Society, people with diabetes are at a significantly higher risk of certain forms of cancer.^{1, 2}

They are at least twice as likely to get cancer of the liver, pancreas and endometrium. Their risk of colon, breast and bladder cancer is 20 to 50 percent higher than people without diabetes.

Just how diabetes (primarily type 2 diabetes) increases cancer risk is not well understood. (It should be said ... the etiology of type 2 diabetes is not completely understood either.) Current thinking includes:

• Shared risk factors such as poor diet, smoking, inactivity, and obesity.
  
• Exposure to higher levels or insulin and blood glucose, either of which may promote cancer growth.
  
• Diabetes characteristics such as insulin resistance and chronic inflammation.
  
• Multidrug therapy for diabetes treatment.

People with diabetes and their healthcare providers should be attentive to changes that may indicate early signs of cancer.
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¹ Diabetes and Cancer: A Consensus Report, CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, June 2010
² Mysterious Link Connects Diabetes And Cancer, NPR, June 2010