Diabetes is a condition that leads to chronically high blood sugar levels, which has adverse effects on the entire body. Diabetics are at an increased risk for sexual dysfunction, kidney failure and heart disease. Research also indicates that diabetes might be associated with the risk of colon cancer.
Colon Cancer Risk
Scientists from the Mayo Clinic investigated the association between diabetes and colon cancer risk by analyzing tumor tissue samples from diabetic older women diagnosed with colon cancer. They discovered that the samples showed greater increases in three different molecular markers associated with colon cancer risk compared to women without diabetes, according to the Science Daily website.
Race
Researchers from the University of North Carolina studied the relationship between diabetes and colorectal risk in whites and African Americans with diabetes. The researchers discovered that diabetes increased the risk for colon cancer in whites, but not African Americans, according to findings published in the April 2009 issue of the journal "Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention."
Type 2 Diabetes
In research published in a 2004 issue of "Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention," researchers from the Aichi Cancer Center Research Institute in Japan explored the relationship between type 2 diabetes and risk of colon cancer in Japanese men and women. They found that type 2 diabetes increases the risk for colorectal cancer in Japanese.
Review of Literature
In findings reported in the November 2005 issue of the "Journal of the National Cancer Institute," scientists from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden performed a review of the scientific literature regarding the association between diabetes and the risk of colorectal cancer. They concluded that men and women with diabetes had an increased risk for colon cancer compared to those without diabetes.
References
- ScienceDaily; Older Women with Diabetes Face Higher Risk for Colon Cancer; May 2010
- "Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention"; The Association Between Diabetes, Insulin Use, and Colorectal Cancer Among Whites and African Americans; L.C. Vinikoor, et al.; March 2009
- "Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention"; Association Between Type II Diabetes and Colon Cancer Among Japanese with Reference to Changes in Food Intake; K. Kuriki, et al.; January-March 2004
- "Journal of the National Cancer Institute"; Diabetes Mellitus and Risk of Colorectal Cancer: A Meta-Analysis; S.C. Larsson, et al.; November 2005
