Romanian Society of Pharmaceutical Sciences

« Back to Farmacia Journal 5/2012

FACTORS THAT MAY INFLUENCE THE RISK OF CANCER IN DIABETES

RUCSANDRA DĂNCIULESCU MIULESCU1, SUZANA DĂNOIU2, VICTOR PURCĂREA3, CONSTANTIN IONESCU-TÎRGOVIȘTE4

1Department of Endocrinology, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest
2Department of Patophysiology, University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Craiova
3Department of Medical Informatics and Biostatistics, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest
4Department of Diabetes, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest

Download Full Article PDF

Several studies revealed a frequent association with increased cancer risk in diabetes. The results of these studies indicate that some types of cancer develop more commonly in patients with diabetes; the relative risks are greater for liver, pancreas, and endometrium cancer and less for colon, rectum, breast, and bladder cancer. Lung cancers do not appear to be associated with an increased risk in diabetes, and the evidence for kidney cancer or non-Hodgkin lymphoma is inconclusive. Prostate cancer occurs less often in men with diabetes. Most of the epidemiological data on cancer incidence and mortality has been obtained for type 2 diabetic patients and these findings cannot be extended to type 1 diabetic subjects. Obesity, the quality of metabolic control, the administered drugs, the possible presence of chronic complications, the increased oxidative stress and the potential role of inflammatory cytokines are some of the factors present in diabetic patients, that may influence the association between diabetes and cancer.