Linking prediabetes and cancer: a complex issue

Excerpt

To the Editor: We read with interest the meta-analysis by Huang et al [1] on the association between prediabetes and risk of cancer. In this article, prediabetes was defined as being a general term referring to an intermediate stage between normoglycaemia and overt diabetes [1]. Based on the data obtained from 13 cohorts (as indicated in Fig. 2 of their paper), the authors concluded that prediabetes was associated with a 15% increased risk for the general population of developing cancer. Overall, the findings seem to be in line with the evidence of a positive association between diabetes and cancer [2]; as for other diabetic complications, including cardiovascular complications, the association seems to encompass both the diabetic and prediabetic states. Type 2 diabetes is associated with an increased risk of several cancer types, including postmenopausal breast, colorectal, endometrial, liver and pancreatic cancer, and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma [2]. These associations seem to be independent of BMI. Furthermore, patients with pre-existing diabetes who develop cancer have increased short-term and long-term mortality compared with non-diabetic patients [3]. …