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Last Updated: Jun 30, 2008 - 11:14:37 AM |
SUNDAY DEC 9, 2007 (Foodconsumer.org) -- Women with diabetes are 1.5 times more likely to suffer colorectal cancer than those who do not have the metabolic disorder, according to a study by researchers at the University of Minnesota.
"Colorectal cancer and type II diabetes share a number of common factors, including obesity, so it is interesting to see the direct line between these two conditions," said Andrew Flood, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Division of Epidemiology and Community Health at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health and the University of Minnesota Cancer Center.
"In general, the idea is that if elevated insulin levels create a biochemical environment conducive to cancer growth, it provides one mechanism by which diet and lifestyle can really influence cancer risk.”
The researchers followed 45,000 participants with no history of colorectal cancer or self-reported diabetes for weight years from 1987 to 1989 and from 1995 to 1998 to examine the association between diabetes and colorectal cancer.
Flood said it is unknown why diabetics have a higher risk of colorectal cancer. But one possibility he explained is that there may be something to do with the elevated concentration of insulin typically seen in the type 2 diabetes patients.
"In the early stages of the disease process, people become insulin resistant, meaning they must produce more and more insulin to regulate their blood sugar," Flood said.
"Even after frank diabetes begins, insulin levels remain chronically elevated for extended periods before the pancreas can no longer supply the level of insulin the body demands," Flood said.
However, the team found no elevated risk of colorectal cancer in pre-diabetic women.
Flood suggested that the elevated insulin level may not have lasted long enough or higher enough to trigger the risk of colorectal cancer in pre-diabetic women or something else in addition to hyper-insulinemia could be the reason for the significantly increased risk for colorectal cancer in diabetes patients.
A scientist affiliated with foodconsumer.org reminded readers that type-2 diabetes is primarily a metabolic disorder triggered by inadequate dietary practice. It's likely that both diabetes and colorectal cancer share some common dietary risk factors as primary causes.
Another speculation, according to the foodconsumer.org scientist, may be that the pancreas overwhelmingly produces insulin in diabetes patients to handle carbohydrates, causing the organ to reduce production of proteases in the pancreas that the body needs to fight cancer cells. Studies have found certain pancreatic enzymes are critical in defense against cancerous cells.
An estimated 20.8 million people in the U.S. - 7.0 percent of the population - have diabetes, according to National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse. Colorectal cancer will be diagnosed in 153,700 men and women in the country and 52,180 will die because of this disease in 2007, according to cancer.gov.
The current study was presented at the American Association for Cancer Research's Sixth Annual International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research, being held from December 5 to 8 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
© 2004-2008 by foodconsumer.org unless otherwise specified
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