Originally published November 3 2005
Research suggests diabetics run a greater risk of developing colon cancer
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Dr. Donald Garrow, a clinical research fellow at the Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, headed research that has shown some link between diabetes and increased risk of colon cancer.
"Diabetics are 1.4 times more likely to have been told they have colon cancer," said Dr. Donald Garrow, a clinical instructor and a masters in clinical research fellow at the Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston.
Garrow said other studies have found the same association, but he believes his study is the largest cross-sectional survey to evaluate the question of whether diabetics face a higher colorectal cancer risk.
His team based its findings on data involving more than 226,000 Americans, collected from 1997 to 2003 as part of the National Health Interview Survey.
Even after compensating for other factors that affect risk -- age, gender, alcohol use, tobacco use and exercise -- the researchers found that individuals with diabetes were more likely than non-diabetics to develop colon cancer.
Exactly why that might be isn't certain, Garrow said, but he noted that elevated insulin levels in the blood of those with diabetes are thought to affect cells in the colon's mucosal lining.
"In the lab, these mucosal cells, when exposed to high levels of insulin, develop into cancer cells," he said.
An estimated 14.6 million people in the United States have been diagnosed with diabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association.
More than 145,000 new cases of colorectal cancer are expected to be diagnosed in the United States this year, according to the American Cancer Society, and over 56,000 patients will die from the disease.
Garrow said the study highlights the fact that diabetics must be especially careful to follow colorectal cancer screening guidelines.
The American Cancer Society now recommends that, beginning at age 50, men and women at average risk should be screened with tests such as the fecal occult blood test, invasive exams such as sigmoidoscopy and colonoscopy, and/or double barium enema.
Adgent, an internal medicine physician in Wilmington, N.C., said he treats many patients with diabetes.
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