The diabetes-cancer link
While diabetes and cancer are different diseases, studies have shown their close link. The former is on the rise in Singapore, affecting around one in 10 people.
People who have long-term Type 2 diabetes (five years or more) have a 50 per cent higher risk of developing pancreatic cancer, said Dr Yong Wei Peng, associate director (research) and senior consultant at National University Cancer Institute, Singapore. However, the cancer can also cause diabetes, which is sometimes an early sign of a tumour in the pancreas, he added.
About a quarter of pancreatic cancer patients have diabetes at the point of diagnosis and approximately two in five have pre-diabetes (higher than normal blood glucose levels). Besides diabetics, people who smoke, are obese, and have a family history of the cancer or inherited genetic syndromes are at risk of developing pancreatic cancer. EVELINE GAN
