| As the level of obesity has risen exponentially in the | | | | women. This link is strong enough to suggest that |
| Western World so has the incidence of insulin | | | | diabetes can lead to breast cancer. |
| resistance and type two diabetes. There appears to | | | | In the study by Weiderpass et al in 1997 diabetes |
| be a link between obesity and post menopausal | | | | was assessed at baseline, and the subsequent |
| women and breast cancer, but that link is hard to | | | | relative risk for breast cancer diagnosed after five to |
| prove as the risk factors for both are similar, a | | | | nine years, but it found that the risk was no higher |
| sedentary lifestyle, a high intake of refined | | | | than in the one to four year periods. Michels et al |
| carbohydrates such as white sugar, white bread and | | | | 2003 found an increase in the incidence of cancer |
| white pasta and a high level of fats and obesity. | | | | after fifteen years in diabetic patients. However the |
| The metabolic link between diabetes and obesity is | | | | study was only small because of the gap of fifteen |
| there but the role of breast cancer and metabolism | | | | years. Some doctors believe that insulin concentration |
| has only recently studies in September 2007. | | | | drop in the later stages of type 2 diabetes ad this |
| Statistically, the increase in this kind of cancer has | | | | may cause the increased risk to shrink over time and |
| been steady since the 1930s until the present day, | | | | not get worse. A statistically significant positive |
| except data from the National Cancer Institute's | | | | association between diabetes mellitus and the risk of |
| Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER), the | | | | cancer remained in only three case studies over |
| incidence of breast cancer dropped from 2001 to | | | | twenty years. |
| 2003 by 4.8% annually. | | | | Although the overall mortality rate for breast cancer |
| It was presumed that this fall was a result of an | | | | has decreased in the past 15 years because of earlier |
| increased awareness of the need for women to | | | | diagnosis and better drugs, diabetes has been linked |
| have mammograms and also a corresponding | | | | to increased mortality from breast cancer. Coughlin et |
| reduction in the amount of women undergoing HRT. | | | | al followed 1.2 million US men and women twice a |
| In 1980, 5.8 million Americans were diabetic ( middle | | | | year from 1982 to 1988 and found that women with |
| aged diabetics) while that figure has soared to nearly | | | | diabetes were more likely to die from breast cancer |
| fifteen million by 2005. | | | | than were women not diagnosed with diabetes. |
| Since the 1950s, women with breast cancer have had | | | | Similar studies in Italy have supported the claim that |
| higher rates of diabetes than do healthy women in | | | | there is a direct causal relationship between diabetes |
| the same age group. Seven studies have found a | | | | and cancer and that diabetes also accelerated the |
| strong association between cancer and diabetes in | | | | growth of tumors and made it less likely that women |
| women after the menopause yet there has been no | | | | would get to a five year survival rate. |
| strong evidence that there is a link in pre menopausal | | | | |