Women who have risk factors commonly associated with Type 2 diabetes also have much greater odds of being diagnosed with an advanced breast cancer, according to research to be presented today.
University of Melbourne researcher Dr Anne Cust was a key collaborator on an international study which will today be presented to the Population Health 2008 Conference in Brisbane.
The study found that women who were overweight or had signs of insulin resistance – such as elevated blood glucose or insulin levels – were about 50 per cent more likely to be diagnosed with an advanced breast cancer tumor.
Researchers tracked more than 60,000 Swedish women over a 20-year-period from 1985 to 2005. All were cancer free when recruited and their blood tested for glucose, insulin and other hormones associated with obesity and diabetes risk.
Insulin resistance is most commonly caused by being overweight and inactive and is often a precursor to Type 2 diabetes.
Dr Cust said that previous research had shown a strong link between being overweight and increased breast cancer risk in post menopausal women– but this study was the first to demonstrate the influence of insulin resistance on the stage of cancer diagnosis.
"Women with insulin resistance or who were overweight were less likely to be diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancers but at greater risk of being diagnosed with stage 2 to 4 tumors – larger more advanced cancers,'' she said. "We know that being overweight and having insulin resistance is a risk factor for getting cancer but - in the case of breast cancer - our study indicates that the cancer will be more advanced."
Dr Cust said the research findings were particularly significant at a time when there were major public health concerns about obesity and Type 2 diabetes rates.
Source: University of Melbourne
Related stories:
Colon cancer link to obesity uncovered
A new study reveals the first-ever genetic link between obesity and colon cancer risk, a finding that could lead to greater accuracy in testing for the disease, said a researcher at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).
Parsing the genome of a deadly brain tumor
The most comprehensive to-date genomic analysis of a cancer – the deadly brain tumor glioblastoma multiforme – shows previously unrecognized changes in genes and provides an overall view of the missteps in the pathways that govern the growth and behavior of cells, said members of The Cancer Genome Atlas Research Network in a report that appears online today in the journal
Nature.
Bisphenol A linked to metabolic syndrome in human tissue
New research from the University of Cincinnati (UC) implicates the primary chemical used to produce hard plastics—bisphenol A (BPA)—as a risk factor for metabolic syndrome and its consequences.
Growth factor predicts poor outcome in breast cancer
The response to insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-I) in breast cancer cells predicts an aggressive tumor that is less likely to respond to treatment, said researchers at Baylor College of Medicine in a report that appears in the current issue of the
Journal of Clinical Oncology. The finding gives impetus to the movement to tailor cancer treatments to attributes of the various tumors.
Exercise pill is no replacement for exercise
Recently, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, a research organization focused on biology and its relation to health,
published a study in the journal
Cell on the results of a substance that increased exercise endurance without daily exertion when tested in mice. Media reports have described this substance as an "exercise pill," potentially eliminating the need for exercise.
Researchers identify promising cancer drug target in prostate tumors
Scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute report they have blocked the development of prostate tumors in cancer-prone mice by knocking out a molecular unit they describe as a "powerhouse" that drives runaway cell growth.
Diabetes drug slows early-onset puberty in girls
In young girls at risk of early puberty and insulin resistance, the diabetes drug metformin delayed the onset of menstruation and decreased the development of insulin resistance, a risk factor for type 2 diabetes, according to a new study. The results were presented Monday, June 16, at The Endocrine Society's 90th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.
Age at puberty linked to mother's prenatal diet
A high-fat diet during pregnancy and nursing may lead to the child having an early onset of puberty and subsequent adulthood obesity, according to a new animal study. The results were presented Monday, June 16, at The Endocrine Society's 90th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.