Diabetes has negative effect on breast cancer patients

A review of research by scientists at Johns Hopkins University in the US has found that breast cancer patients have a 50 per cent higher risk of dying of any cause if they also suffer from diabetes .
It was shown that people with diabetes tend to be diagnosed with later-stage breast cancers and to receive potentially less effective treatment regimens. Kimberly S. Peairs, who led the study, which was published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, commented “When patients are faced with a diagnosis of breast cancer, which they see as an imminent threat to their lives, diabetes care often goes on the back burner.
She added “this research suggests we may need to proactively treat the diabetes as well as the cancer.”
The team fully examined previously published research on breast cancer and diabetes, focusing on eight particular studies, most of which had breast cancer patients whose pre-existing diabetes was linked with higher long-term, all-cause mortality.
It was shown that diabetics diagnosed with breast cancer could receive less effective treatment due to practitioners being concerned about these patients suffering more side effects from chemotherapy or radiation treatments as a result of the metabolic condition. The higher death rate may also associated with diabetics coming to breast cancer treatment being less healthy than those without it.