Type 2 diabetes appears to reduce the risk of prostate cancer in men, but appears to increase the risk of some cancers in women, researchers in Israel said.
Diabetes UK reports on a study led by Dr. Gabriel Chodick and Dr. Varda Shalev of Tel Aviv University’s Sackler Faculty of Medicine. The study examined 16,721 people with diabetes and determined the relative cancer risk for men and women. The scientists revealed that the fact that type 2 adult-onset diabetes causes insulin-like hormones to circulate around the body has a beneficial effect on bringing down the rate of prostate cancer in men; however, for women, type 2 diabetes may double the risk of female genital and other cancers.
The study was published in the journal Cancer Causes & Control.
