Complications of diabetes can have numerous negative health effects, from impaired vision and nerve damage to kidney dysfunction and heart disease. In an analysis of data on adults with colorectal cancer, patients who had diabetes—especially those with diabetic complications—had a higher risk of dying early. The results are published by Wiley Online cancerA peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society.
For the study, Kuo-Leong Chien, MD, PhD, of National Taiwan University, and his colleagues examined data registered between 2007 and 2015 in the Taiwan Cancer Registry database, which is linked to health insurance and death records. Their analysis included 59,202 individuals with stage I-III colorectal cancer who underwent potentially curative surgery to remove their tumors. Of these patients, 9,448 had cancer recurrence and 21,031 died of any cause during the study period.
Compared with people without diabetes, people with complicated diabetes had minimal or insignificantly higher risks of all-cause and cancer-specific mortality, whereas those with complicated diabetes were 85% more likely to die from any cause and 41% more likely to die. from cancer. These associations were more pronounced in women and in patients with early-stage colorectal cancer.
Also, compared to patients without diabetes, patients with uncomplicated or uncomplicated diabetes had a 10-11% higher risk of colorectal cancer recurrence.
The mechanisms behind the relationship between diabetes severity and poor colorectal cancer prognosis may involve different pathways and responses, such as higher blood insulin and glucose levels, as well as elevated inflammatory conditions, which are characteristic of type 2 diabetes.
Despite the high prevalence of diabetes in patients with colorectal cancer, the study suggests that multispecialty integrated medical care can help prevent diabetes complications, potentially improving long-term colorectal cancer oncological outcomes, especially in women and patients with early-stage cancer. “
Kuo-Leong Chien, MD, PhD, National Taiwan University
Source:
Journal Reference:
Hsu, H.Y., etc (2023) Diabetic severity and oncological outcome of colorectal cancer after curative resection: a population-based cohort study on diabetes and colorectal cancer prognosis in Taiwan. cancer. doi.org/10.1002/cncr.34975.