Abstract
BackgroundPrevious studies indicated that type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) might be associated with the risk of cancer. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between T2DM and the risk of developing common cancers in a Chinese population.MethodsA population-based retrospective cohort study was carried out in the Nan-Hu district of Jiaxing city, Zhejiang province, China. The incidence of cancer cases among type 2 diabetic patients were identified through record-linkage of the Diabetic Surveillance and Registry Database with the Cancer Database from January 2002 to June 2008. The standardized incidence ratio (SIR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were estimated for the risk of cancer among the patients with type 2 diabetes.ResultsThe overall incidence of cancer was 1083.6 per 105 subjects in male T2DM patients and 870.2 per 105 in females. Increased risk of developing cancer was found in both male and female T2DM patients with an SIR of 1.331 (95% CI = 1.143-1.518) and 1.737 (1.478-1.997), respectively. As for cancer subtypes, both male and female T2DM patients had a significantly increased risk of pancreatic cancer with the SIRs of 2.973 (1.73-4.21) and 2.687 (1.445-3.928), respectively. Elevated risk of liver and kidney cancers was only found in male T2DM patients with SIRs of 1.538 (1.005-2.072) and 4.091 (1.418-6.764), respectively. Increased risks of developing breast cancer [2.209 (1.487-2.93)] and leukemia SIR: [4.167 (1.584- 6.749) ] were found in female patients.ConclusionsThese findings indicated that patients with T2DM have an increased risk of developing cancer. Additional cancer screening should be employed in the management of patients with T2DM.
Highlights
Previous studies indicated that type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) might be associated with the risk of cancer
Once a specific patient with cancer or diabetes based on the 1999 WHO criteria [22] was diagnosed by the certificated physicians in the regional hospitals, the patient information was reported to the regional Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the data were verified and recorded in the Cancer/ Diabetics Surveillance and Registry Database (CSRD and DSRD)
From 1 January 2002 to 30 June 2008, a total of 7950 T2DM patients were reported through the Diabetics Surveillance and Registry Database system in Nan-Hu district, Jiaxing City
Summary
Previous studies indicated that type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) might be associated with the risk of cancer. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between T2DM and the risk of developing common cancers in a Chinese population. In China, the latest statistical data indicates that the prevalence of diabetes and pre-diabetes in adults older than 20 years is 9.7% and 15.5%, respectively This means that there are 92 million diabetic patients and 148 million pre-diabetic. No cohort study has been reported on diabetes and the risk of developing cancer in the Chinese population. Study on a relatively leaner population in China (mean body mass index [BMI] of 23.6) will be useful in further strengthening evidence on the association between diabetes and cancer. Considering the high prevalence of T2DM all over the world, even a small increase in the cancer risk might have a significant public health impact at the population level
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