Abstract

Background and aim. There is increasing evidence on the association of the metabolic syndrome with the colorectal cancer. We looked for the association of diabetes mellitus, a main component of the metabolic syndrome, with colorectal cancer.
Methods. We looked for all new cases of colorectal cancer in two tertiary centers of a single research center (one of internal medicine with profile of gastroenterology and one of general surgery) in an interval of three years. This was a retrospective study of a series of cases. The cases of gastric cancer collected from the same records served as controls. Comparison between diabetic and non-diabetic patients was performed.
Results. A number of 114 cases with colorectal cancer and of 31 gastric cancer were obtained for analysis. Our data suggest that the colorectal cancer is associated with diabetes in obese patients. On the other hand, the females with diabetes have a double risk of gastric cancer compared to females without diabetes.
Conclusion. Although the association between colorectal cancer and diabetes remains debated, it seems that obesity associated with diabetes is a predisposing factor for colorectal cancer. The risk of gastric cancer in diabetic females deserves further investigation.

Keywords

colorectal cancer, diabetes mellitus, gastric cancer, metabolic syndrome