Diabetes patients on insulin are 50% likelier to develop cancer than the general population, new research from Denmark finds.
The study, considered the largest to focus on diabetes and cancer incidence, analyzed statistics from the Danish national diabetes and cancer registries, then compared the results to cancer incidence among non-diabetics, according to a report in Diabetes in Control.
The findings do not substantiate a direct link, however. Contributing causes such as obesity may explain the association, says lead researcher Bendix Carstensen.
Still, earlier research has pointed to a similar association between insulin and cancer. A University of Texas study from last year argued for a link between Lantus and cancer, though the FDA denied it proved an association. This June, meanwhile, a study published in Diabetes Care contended Lantus was associated with a higher tumor risk.
The new study has not yet been published but an abstract has been posted to the European Association for the Study of Diabetes website.
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