Higher risk of cancer before and after diabetes diagnosis 

The lifetime probability of an individual developing invasive cancer in the U.S. is about 4 in 10 (40%). A little higher in men (45%), a little lower in women (38%).

The good news is that cancer death rates in the U.S. have dropped over the last 20 years. The reduction is 18% for men and 10% for women.

The bad news is that the American Cancer Society projects around 600,000 yearly deaths from cancer in the U.S.

If we look at deaths of people under 85, cancer kills more people than heart disease.

In men, 25% of all invasive cancers will be prostate cancer. In women, breast cancer is the leader, comprising 26% of all cancers. (Common skin cancers are rarely invasive or fatal and are not included in these statistics. Melanoma, on the other hand, is invasive and dangerous.)

New research indicates that people with diabetes may be more prone to several cancers. Older research says men with diabetes are less likely than average to get prostate cancer. Don’t ask me why.

Medical News Today provides a few details:

People who have diabetes may have a higher chance of developing cancer either before or immediately after receiving a diagnosis of diabetes, according to a study published online in the American Cancer Society’s journal, Cancer.

Additional healthcare when people receive a diagnosis of diabetes may lead to more cancer diagnoses around the same time.The results indicate that there is a need for better understanding of the association between cancer and diabetes.

Previous studies have suggested that people with type 2 diabetes have a higher risk of developing several different types of cancer.

Source: Higher risk of cancer before and after diabetes diagnosis – Medical News Today

Steve Parker, M.D.

PS: The traditional Mediterranean diet protects against cancer. We don’t know if my versions of it are even better at preventing cancer.