Diabetes linked to greater risk for head and neck cancer
A new study suggests the risk of developing head and neck cancers is higher for people living with diabetes, adding to the list of known cancers already associated with the blood glucose disorder.
The research, conducted by Kuo-Shu Tseng and colleagues from Tainan University of Technology in Taiwan, compared health data records of nearly 90,000 people newly diagnosed with those of a group of people without the disease.
They found that those with diabetes were almost 50% more likely to develop head and neck cancers (relatively rare forms of cancer that arise in the nasal cavity, sinuses, lips, mouth, salivary glands, throat or larynx) than the non-diabetic group.
Cancer risk was highest among diabetics between the ages of 40 and 65, while men with diabetes had a greater risk than their female counterparts.
The findings also showed that cancer of the mouth was the most common area diagnosed (57.1%) in the diabetes group, followed by the nasopharynx (the upper part of the throat behind the nose), leading to the researchers to conclude that “risks of developing oral cavity cancer, oropharyngeal cancer, and nasopharyngeal carcinoma were significantly higher in patients with diabetes mellitus.”
They added that while the reasons behind this link between diabetes …read more
Source: News from Diabetes.co.uk