Postmenopausal women with medically treated diabetes have increased risk of lung cancer
- Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Regensburg University, Regensburg, Germany
- Correspondence to: Dr Michael Leitzmann
Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Regensburg University, Franz-Josef-Strauss-Allee 11, Regensburg 93053, Germany; michael.leitzmann{at}klinik.uni-regensburg.de
Commentary on: Luo J, Chlebowski R, Wactawski-Wende J, et al. Diabetes and lung cancer among postmenopausal women. Diabetes Care 2012;35:1485–91.
Implications for practice and research
-
Lung cancer may potentially be added to the list of cancers directly related to diabetes or insulin treatment.
-
Current evidence is insufficient to consider lung cancer risk as the basis for selecting appropriate diabetes therapy.
-
Diabetes patients who require insulin therapy for metabolic control should continue to be treated with insulin.
Context
Considerable epidemiological evidence suggests that type 2 diabetes is associated with increased risk of developing various types of malignancies, most notably cancers of the liver, pancreas, endometrium, colorectum, breast and bladder. In contrast, type 2 diabetes has previously not been widely thought to be linked with lung cancer.1 The relation of diabetes to lung cancer …
