Pre-Existing Diabetes For Persons Diagnosed With Cancer Linked With Higher Risk of Death

	Tweet

Patients with diabetes at the time of a cancer diagnosis have an increased risk of death compared to patients without diabetes, according to a meta-analysis of studies reported in the December 17 issue of JAMA.

Approximately 20 million Americans have diabetes mellitus, which is about 7 percent of the U.S. adult population. Diabetes mellitus appears to be a risk factor for some cancers, but the effect of pre-existing diabetes on all-cause death in newly diagnosed cancer patients is less clear, according to background information in the article.

Bethany B. Barone, Sc.M., of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, and colleagues conducted a meta-analysis to examine the association of pre-existing diabetes with long-term, all-cause death in cancer patients. The researchers identified 48 articles that met criteria for the study, including 23 articles for which data could be included in the meta-analysis.

The meta-analysis (of these 23 studies) indicated that pre-existing diabetes was associated with an increase in all-cause death following cancer diagnosis, compared with individuals with normal glucose levels, across all cancer types. Additional analyses by type of cancer showed that pre-existing diabetes was significantly associated with increased long-term, all-cause death for cancers of the endometrium, breast, and colorectum. Diabetes was associated with a nonsignificant increase in risk in prostate, gastric, hepatocellular, lung and pancreatic cancer.

“Future research should determine the relative importance of different pathways to diabetes-related mortality risk. If a clinical or biological interaction between diabetes and cancer care is confirmed, subsequent trials should test whether improvements in diabetes care for patients with newly diagnosed cancer might reduce long-term mortality,” the authors conclude.

(JAMA. 2008;300[23]:2754-2764. Available pre-embargo to the media at jamamedia.org)

Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, funding and support, etc.

Source: American Medical Association (AMA)

RELATED STORIES:
Phone contact with nurses linked with better outcomes for women with gestational diabetes   Death rate drops among Americans with diabetes -CDC   Correct treatment of common diabetic foot infections can reduce amputations   “Pre-diabetes,” diabetes rising among U.S. teens   Experimental bariatric surgery controls blood sugar in rats with diabetes   53 millions Americans might develop diabetes by 2025   New inflammation hormone link may pave way to study new drugs for type 2 diabetes   Diabetic retinopathy research could reduce screening costs   Liver fat gets a wake-up call that maintains blood sugar levels   Low testosterone levels could raise diabetes risk for men   Prosthetic lets diabetic get a foot up on life   Dealing with Diabetes, One Patient at a Time

Comments

[ + Post Your Own ]

Now you're in the public comment zone. What follows is not Armenian Medical Network's stuff; it comes from other people and we don't vouch for it. A reminder: By using this Web site you agree to accept our Terms of Service. Click here to read the Rules of Engagement.

There are no comments for this entry yet. [ + Comment here + ]