Debate has gone on for decades over whether diabetics have a higher risk of pancreatic cancer than non-diabetics. In 1996 researchers at the University Hospital of Uppsala, Sweden, reported a higher than normal risk of liver cancer in patients with diabetes. Their article was published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Over 150,000 patients hospitalized with diabetes from 1964 through to1983 were included in the study. After discharge they were followed up through the Swedish Cancer Registry. The rate of diagnosis of liver cancer was more than 4% higher in the patients with diabetes than in the general population.

Researchers at the German Cancer Research Center at Heidelberg looked further into the risk of cancer in diabetic patients. Their work was published in May, 2010 in the journal Oncologist. Subjects were enrolled in the study from Sweden’s Hospital Discharge Register from 1964 to 2007. Records of cancer were obtained from the Swedish Cancer Registry. Twenty-four kinds of cancer showed higher than normal risk when compared with the general Swedish population.

• for pancreatic cancer… the risk for diabetics was more than 6 times that of the background population
• for liver cancer… the risk was more than 4 times greater in diabetics than in the general population
• cancers of the throat, esophagus, colon, rectum, lung, cervix, uterus, ovaries, and kidneys were also seen more in diabetics than in the general population. The esophagus is a tube leading from the mouth to the stomach
• prostate cancer, surprisingly, actually showed a lower risk in diabetics

About 24,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with cancer of the throat each year. In 2009 16,470 new cases of esophageal cancer were diagnosed and 14,530 deaths were attributed to esophageal cancer. The same year, 106,100 new cases of colon cancer and 40,870 new cases of rectal cancer were also diagnosed.

• lung cancer kills more Americans than any other kind, killing more than 158,000 in 2006
• the same year, almost 12,000 women were diagnosed with cervical cancer
• 42,610 cases of uterine cancer were also diagnosed in the U.S. in 2009
• in 2006 almost 20,000 American women were diagnosed with ovarian cancer
• there were about 57,000 new cases of kidney cancer diagnosed in 2009

This is scary. but unfortunately the cause of the higher risk of many kinds of cancer in type 1 and type 2 diabetics will take much more study. Diabetes is often linked to obesity, and obesity is known to increase the risk of cancer. Researchers also think high blood sugar levels might also be involved.

The lesson for anyone with diabetes, type 1 or 2, is to ensure their blood sugar levels are under control by eating healthily, and exercising daily, to reduce the risk of developing any other diseases.

• Diabetes Risk Factors - Do You Know Your Risk Factors For Diabetes?
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• Foods to Eat With Type 1 & Type 2 Diabetes - Diet & Meal Plans For Diabetics
• Type 2 Diabetes - Is There a Cure, Or Just Prevention and Management?
• Quick Weight Loss Tips to Stay Away From Dangerous Blood Sugar Levels
• Why the Talk of a New Treatment For Diabetes is a Scary Thing to Me

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