A scientific report published in the online edition of the journal Cancer finds that there are inconclusive links between cancer and diabetes.
The report was conducted jointly by a group of researchers from both the American Diabetes Association and the American Cancer Society. The panel was headed by Edward Giovannucci, MD, who is associated with the Harvard School of Public Health.
The panel stressed that there is certainly a link of some kind between the two diseases; however, they stress that it is still far too early to determine the nature of this link. It is possible that diabetes in fact causes patients to have an increased risk for some types of cancer. However, it is also likely that there is no direct link but that both diseases simply share common biological causes such as insulin resistance.
In any case, research shows that patients with type two diabetes are at an increased risk of breast cancer, bladder cancer, colon cancer, and liver cancer. Paradoxically however, diabetes is also associated with a decreased risk for prostate cancer. The reasons for this inconsistency are still unclear.
The scientists involved in the report stress that the most important thing for the public to know is that whether or not diabetes directly causes a greater cancer risk, it is clear that people who share certain lifestyle characteristics—such as obesity, lack of exercise, smoking, and an unhealthy diet—are at an increased risk of developing most forms of cancer as well as type two diabetes.
Another possibility entertained by the panel is that some diabetes treatments could actually increase the risk factors for cancer. However, the evidence for this still remains inconclusive. While the panel argues that research into this possibility should be undertaken to make sure that current diabetes treatments are safe, they also urge diabetes not to make treatment choices based on fear of cancer, since the risks are still unknown. However, they do note that people with diabetes should take special care to have regular cancer screenings.
Ultimately, the panel emphasized the need to address both diseases through preventative lifestyle choices. One doctor on the panel, Alice Bender, notes: “We already know what we need to do to lower risk for both cancer and diabetes. Eat a healthy, varied, predominantly plant-based diet, be physically active every day, and maintain a healthy body weight.”
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