(Aislinn Antram/ Pharmacy Times) — New research has found that cancer mortality in individuals with type 2 diabetes is substantially higher than the general population, according to a study published in Diabetologia.
The study found that cancer mortality rates among patients with type 2 diabetes were 18% higher for all cancers combined, 9% higher for breast cancer, and 2.4 times higher for colorectal cancer, compared to the general population. Cancer mortality in individuals with diabetes was also around double compared with the general population for diabetes-related cancers, such as liver, pancreatic, and endometrial cancers.
The study also noted increasing breast cancer mortality rates by 4.1% per year among younger women with type 2 diabetes across the 20-year study period from 1998 to 2018.
A growing body of epidemiological evidence has shown a higher risk of incidence and mortality for some types of cancer in patients with type 2 diabetes. The underlying biological mechanisms for this association include prolonged exposure to the effects of increased blood sugar and insulin levels, insulin resistance, and chronic inflammation. Robust evidence also suggests that there is a causal relationship between type 2 diabetes and pancreatic, liver, and endometrial cancers. (…)