Millions of type 2 diabetes patients might soon benefit from a blood test designed to gauge their cancer risk, according to new research.
The study, set to be presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes conference in Madrid, reveals that patients with high levels of inflammatory proteins in their blood are 51 percent more likely to develop obesity-related cancers, such as breast and bowel cancer.
The research, involving 6,466 newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes patients from the Danish Centre for Strategic Research in Type 2 Diabetes, tested for small proteins associated with chronic inflammation, including interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP). Over a nearly ten-year follow-up period, those with elevated IL-6 levels were found to have a significantly higher risk of developing cancer.
Mathilde Dahlin Bennetsen from the Steno Diabetes Centre Odense in Denmark, a co-author of the study, emphasised the need for regular health check-ups for diabetes patients to monitor these inflammatory markers and potentially reduce their cancer risk.
