Prostate Cancer Risk Lowered with Diabetes

A study of 72,000 men enrolled in the Cancer Prevention Study II foundthat men with type 2 diabetes are less prone to prostate cancer. The purposeof the study was to examine the relationship between the time of the diabetesdiagnosis and the risk of prostate cancer. For the study, the participantscompleted a questionnaire regarding information on diabetes at the study'sonset in 1992 and at follow-up in 1997 and 1999. In 2002, 5318 men hadbeen diagnosed with prostate cancer, and 10,053 men reported a physiciandiagnosis of diabetes.

"Diabetes was associated with lower prostate cancer incidence rates afteradjustment for age, race, education, and prostate-specific antigen testing,"reported the researchers in the American Journal of Epidemiology (January 15,2005). The results of the study showed that men who were diagnosed with diabeteswithin the last 3 years had slightly higher rates of prostate cancer, comparedwith men without diabetes. On the other hand, the participants who hadhad diabetes for at least 4 years had a one-third lower rate of prostate cancer.