The risk of insulin resistance increases in the presence of cancer, which can accelerate disease progression.
- Cancer patients may have higher than average blood sugar levels, linked to insulin resistance.
- This insulin resistance can facilitate the progression of cancer cells.
- Further studies will provide a better understanding of who are the patients at risk.
The effects of cancer are many and some have yet to be discovered. In the 1920s, researchers noticed that people with cancer had smelly urine, and they discovered that their high blood sugar levels were the cause. What is the connection between cancer and blood sugar? Danish scientists have answered this question in a study published in Acta Oncology.
Insulin resistance in people with cancer: signs that are hard to detect
There have been many studies on the links between cancer and insulin. For their work, researchers from the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences in Copenhagen gathered data from 15 studies on this topic.In cancer patients, cells do not respond well to insulin, says Lykke Sylow, one of the main authors of this research. If you have insulin resistance, your body has to produce more insulin than usual to regulate blood sugar levels..” This phenomenon also occurs in people with type 2 diabetes, but it is less easy to detect in cancer patients because the symptoms are common to those of the disease: fatigue, thirst, etc.
Insulin facilitates cancer progression
Research has shown that insulin may contribute to disease progression.”We know from cell studies, animal studies and some human studies that insulin is a growth hormone and that it has the same effect on cancer cellssays Joan Màrmol, co-author of the study. That is, high insulin levels can accelerate the growth of cancer cells.“In addition, insulin resistance disrupts protein storage in muscles, which can result in loss of muscle mass and strength, which is very disabling in people with cancer.
Cancer: Insulin resistance must be treated
The authors of the study believe that oncologists should be interested in their patients’ blood sugar levels, even in the absence of characteristic symptoms. “If they find out that the patient has insulin resistance, they have to start treating it, they recommend. We are able to treat insulin resistance because we have extensive knowledge of the disease, we are just more accustomed to associating it with type 2 diabetes.”
Scientists want to continue their research to better assess patients at risk.The next step is to try to determine who develops insulin resistance, concludes Lykke Sylow. Which cancer patients are at risk? Do they have a particular type of cancer or specific risk factors? Or is it treatment-related?“ Further work will provide answers.