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Higher blood sugar levels linked to colon cancer risk

Category: Colon

Older women who have blood testing reveal that they have elevated glucose levels may be at a higher risk of developing colorectal cancer, according to a new study published in the British Journal of Cancer.

Researchers from Yeshiva University analyzed blood test samples from a group of women over a 12-year period. The results showed that those who had the high glucose levels during this time were nearly twice as likely to develop colorectal cancer.

The team said that obesity may play a central role in the correlation they uncovered. Carrying excess weight is known to be a risk factor for colorectal cancer, and it is often associated with higher blood sugar levels. The next step will be to figure out how one influences the other.

"The next challenge is to find the mechanism by which chronically elevated blood glucose levels may lead to colorectal cancer," said Geoffrey Kabat, who led the study. "It's possible that elevated glucose levels are linked to increased blood levels of growth factors and inflammatory factors that spur the growth of intestinal polyps, some of which later develop into cancer."