With rapid economic development, people’s lifestyles and dietary habits have changed significantly, and the incidence of colorectal cancer is on a marked rise. Among them, poor lifestyles such as high-fat and high-calorie diets, sedentary and lack of physical exercise are closely associated with increased risk of colorectal cancer.
However, these same poor lifestyles and other causes are also contributing to the increasing prevalence of diabetes.
Is colorectal cancer associated with diabetes?
Diabetes is a group of endocrine metabolic diseases characterized by chronic hyperglycemia, and there are three main types: type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, and gestational diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is the most common.
- Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which a genetic susceptibility leads to the destruction of pancreatic islet cells that do not produce enough insulin or do not use insulin efficiently, leading to the disease.
- Insulin resistance (decreased efficiency of insulin to promote glucose uptake and utilization) is a major feature of type 2 diabetes, and nutritional imbalances, physical inactivity, and obesity are the main causes of insulin resistance.
Multiple domestic and international epidemiological studies have shown that diabetes is a risk factor for colorectal cancer, meaning that patients with diabetes have an increased risk of developing colorectal cancer. A domestic case-control study found that the risk of colorectal cancer in patients with diabetes was 1.9 times greater than in non-diabetic patients, suggesting that diabetes is a risk factor for colorectal cancer. The study also found that a family history of diabetes also increased the risk of colorectal cancer.
The study also found that patients with colorectal cancer had a significantly higher risk of developing diabetes compared to the healthy population. Even if patients survive long after colorectal cancer treatment, they still have a higher risk of developing diabetes than the healthy population.
How can people with diabetes prevent colorectal cancer?
Patients with diabetes, especially those with a family history of colorectal cancer, should be alert to the development of colorectal cancer while receiving glucose-lowering medications or insulin therapy.
In addition to good lifestyle habits, receive regular fecal occult blood tests, blood tumor markers and colonoscopies for early detection and treatment of colorectal cancer.