Certain Cancer Treatments May Increase Risk For Diabetes
Posted Aug 11 2009 9:52am
Recent studies, out of a group of American, and Canadian, hospitals suggest that radiation therapy for certain childhood cancers may increase diabetes risk.
..... they found that treatment with abdominal irradiation, total body irradiation or cranial irradiation increased the odds of developing diabetes by 90%, according to a study to be published in Tuesday’s edition of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
The researchers focused on a group of 8,599 people who were alive at least five years after being diagnosed with one of several cancers -- leukemia, central nervous system tumors, Hodgkin lymphoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, renal tumors, neuroblastoma, soft-tissue sarcomas or bone tumors -- before the age of 21.
Survivors were found to have almost twice the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes and they seemed to develop it a bit earlier, in age, than average. Those getting total body irradiation, or abdominal irradiation, were more than 12 times more likely to develop diabetes.
No solid explanation can be offered, but theories include radiation damage to the pancreas and / or adipose (fat) tissue, possibly leading to the insulin resistant state that is necessary for the development of Type 2 diabetes.
In all, not a reason to change how childhood cancers are treated, but another risk factor that we should be considering when seeing patients.
Survivors were found to have almost twice the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes and they seemed to develop it a bit earlier, in age, than average. Those getting total body irradiation, or abdominal irradiation, were more than 12 times more likely to develop diabetes.
No solid explanation can be offered, but theories include radiation damage to the pancreas and / or adipose (fat) tissue, possibly leading to the insulin resistant state that is necessary for the development of Type 2 diabetes.
In all, not a reason to change how childhood cancers are treated, but another risk factor that we should be considering when seeing patients.
The full article ishere.