Research
Hormonal
Type 2 diabetes is associated with an increased risk of specific cancers, including endometrial, colorectal, breast, pancreatic, liver, and kidney cancers, while being associated with a decreased risk of prostate cancer.
If you have Type 2 diabetes, be aware that your risk for certain cancers (like breast, colorectal, and pancreatic) is higher, while your risk for prostate cancer may be lower. Regular screening appropriate for your age and gender is crucial.
ModerateQualifiesMEDIUM confidence
After meta-analyses of observational studies of diabetes and cancer that carefully summarized the robustness of reported associations... they were able to demonstrate consistent relationships between diabetes and an increased risk of cancers of the breast, colorectum, endometrium, and kidney, pancreatic, hepatocellular, gastric and thyroid) remain more uncertain given concerns with methodological approaches in previous studies.
Why this rating
Based on meta-analyses, but methodological biases (detection, protopathic) are significant concerns.
Source
Review: Diabetes, Obesity, and Cancer—Pathophysiology and Clinical Implications
Iliana C. Lega et al. · Endocrine Reviews · 2019
DOI 10.1210/endrev/bnz014
narrative_reviewCited 345×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Obesity is an independent risk factor for multiple cancers, with endometrial, post-menopausal breast, and colorectal cancers accounting for over 60% of cancers attributed to obesity.Good
- Intentional weight loss, particularly through bariatric surgery or significant lifestyle changes, reduces the risk of obesity-associated cancers, including endometrial and breast cancer.Moderate
- Metformin use in patients with diabetes is associated with a reduced risk of cancer and cancer-specific mortality, although methodological biases in early studies may have inflated these estimates.Moderate
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