A population-based cohort study of cancer in 32,247 type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients.

•T2DM patients had an overall 28% significantly higher cancer risk.
•Particularly elevated risks were found for liver and pancreas carcinomas.

•T2DM patients with breast cancer had a lower 5-year survival probability than breast cancer patients without diabetes.

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is associated with an elevated risk of cancer. The aim of this study was to assess cancer risk and survival in individuals with type 2 DM (T2DM) in Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy. A retrospective population-based cohort study of 32,247 T2DM patients aged 40–84 years was conducted through a record linkage of local healthcare databases and cancer registry for the period 2002–2009. Standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) with 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs) and 5-year survival probabilities after T2DM and cancer diagnosis were computed. The SIRs for all cancers (n = 2069) was 1.28 (95%CI: 1.23–1.34). The highest SIRs were observed for cancers of the liver, female genital organs, small intestine, and pancreas. After 3 years from T2DM diagnosis, a reduced risk of prostate cancer (SIR = 0.73, 95%CI: 0.54–0.96) was found in men aged 65–74 years, and a higher risk for breast cancer (SIR = 1.24, 95%CI: 1.00–1.52) was found among T2DM female patients. The overall 5-year survival after T2DM was 88.7%. Furthermore, T2DM appeared to have a negative effect on survival of women with breast cancer. This population-based study confirmed that T2DM patients are at increased risk of several cancers, and of premature death in women with breast cancer.

Source

doi:10.1016/j.canep.2016.01.011

Andrea Gini, Ettore Bidoli, Loris Zanier, Elena Clagnan, Giorgio Zanette, Michele Gobbato, Paolo De Paoli, Diego Serraino, Cancer among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: A population-based cohort study in northeastern Italy, Cancer Epidemiology, Volume 41, April 2016, Pages 80-87, ISSN 1877-7821,