New Delhi: Diabetes is associated with an increased risk for developing a type of liver cancer called hepatocellular carcinoma, researchers said. People with diabetes have a two- to threefold higher risk for hepatocellular carcinoma compared with those without diabetes,” said V Wendy Setiawan, assistant professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine at Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California.
“We also found that the interethnic differences in the prevalence of diabetes were consistent with the pattern of hepatocellular carcinoma incidence observed across ethnicities: Ethnic groups with a high prevalence of diabetes also have high hepatocellular carcinoma rates, and those with a lower prevalence of diabetes have lower hepatocellular carcinoma rates,” said Setiawan.
Prior research has suggested that diabetes may be a risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma, and its increasing incidence may be contributing to the rising rate of hepatocellular carcinoma. Setiawan said that public health efforts encouraging obesity/diabetes prevention and effective diabetes management should be directed at high-risk populations.
Setiawan and colleagues examined if the association between diabetes and hepatocellular carcinoma differed by race/ethnic group. They analysed data from more than 150,000 people enrolled in the Multi-ethnic Cohort Study between 1993 and 1996.
During the study follow-up period of about 15 years, 506 cases of hepatocellular carcinoma were reported. According to Setiawan, eliminating diabetes could potentially reduce hepatocellular carcinoma incidence in all racial/ethnic groups, with the largest potential reduction possible in Latinos.
Bureau Report
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