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Preexisting diabetes increased risk for death among patients with cancer
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Patients with diabetes at the time of cancer diagnosis had an increased risk for death compared with patients without diabetes, according to results of a meta-analysis.
Researchers conducted a systematic review to examine the association of preexisting diabetes with long-term, all-cause death in patients with cancer. They identified 48 articles that met criteria for the study; 23 were included in the meta-analysis.
Preexisting diabetes was associated with an increase in all-cause death following cancer diagnosis (HR=1.41; 95% CI, 1.28-1.55) compared with normoglycemic individuals. This association was present across all cancer types.
Subgroup analysis by type of cancer revealed that preexisting diabetes was significantly associated with increased long-term, all-cause death for cancers of the endometrium (HR=1.76; 95% CI, 1.34-2.31), breast (HR=1.61; 95% CI, 1.46-1.78) and colorectum (HR=1.32; 95% CI, 1.24-1.41). Diabetes was associated with a nonsignificant increase in risk for prostate, gastric, hepatocellular, lung and pancreatic cancer.
“If a clinical or biological interaction between diabetes and cancer care is confirmed, subsequent trials should test whether improvements in diabetes care for patients with newly diagnosed cancer might reduce long-term mortality,” the researchers wrote.
JAMA. 2008;300:2754-2764.