FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM MARCH 4, 2021 • HEALTH • THE QUEENS COURIER 19
health
What you need to know about
the cancer-diabetes connection
There are more connections between
diabetes and cancer than you’d expect.
Research suggests the two can be intimately
related - with some cancer
treatments putting patients at risk for
insulin dependence, and type 2 diabetes
greatly increasing a person’s susceptibility
to cancer.
Because cancer and both types 1 and
2 diabetes can weaken the immune
system, people with these disorders
are also at increased risk of of severe
illness from COVID-19, according to
the U.S. Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC).
Cancer and
diabetes are connected
In type 1 diabetes, the body no longer
sufficiently produces insulin. In
type 2 diabetes, the body may still be
producing insulin, but other metabolic
cells of the body become resistant to
its effects (insulin resistance). Insulin,
a hormone the pancreas makes to
allow cells to use glucose, remains the
standard treatment option for millions
of people living with diabetes.
In 1978 at City of Hope, a biomedical
research complex and National Cancer
Institute-designated comprehensive
cancer center in Southern California,
Arthur Riggs, Ph.D., and Keiichi
Itakura, Ph.D., conducted research
that led to the invention of synthetic
human insulin, which transformed
modern diabetes management. In
2017, City of Hope founded the Wanek
Family Project for Type 1 Diabetes, an
ambitious program designed to rapidly
translate laboratory discoveries into
new treatments - and eventually a cure
- for type 1 diabetes.
Cancer and diabetes are “two sides
of the same coin” because at a fundamental
level both are disruptions of
the body’s normal metabolism. For
example, people with type 2 diabetes
are twice as likely to develop liver or
pancreatic cancer and run a higherthan
normal risk of developing colon,
bladder and breast cancer. City of
Hope’s Debbie C. Thurmond, Ph.D.,
explained that obesity is a major risk
factor for both cancer and type 2 diabetes.
“Excess fat may provoke the disruption
of the body’s normal metabolism
and increase inflammation, which
is a known trigger for both diabetes
and cancer,” she said.
Diabetes and COVID-19 also
appear to be connected
While there’s still much to learn
about COVID-19, recent data from the
CDC reported more than three-quarters
of people who died from COVID-
19 had at least one preexisting condition.
Specifically, diabetes was noted
as an underlying condition in approximately
four out of 10 patients. Among
people younger than 65 who died from
the infection, about half had diabetes.
Managing diabetes during
COVID-19
People with diabetes - type 1 or type
2 - are more susceptible to contracting
COVID-19 than others, and have
poorer outcomes if they do. City of
Hope’s Ping H. Wang, M.D., noted,
“Patients with diabetes have higher
risks of serious complications and
ketoacidosis from COVID-19,” and
explained that warning signs of severe
infection are heightened shortness of
breath, persistent chest pain and an
intense feeling of fatigue. Even mild
symptoms should not be ignored, he
said. If you are experiencing any flulike
symptoms, Wang said you should
call your physician and continue to
monitor your blood glucose.
Managing your diabetes
as the first line of defense
against the novel coronavirus
It’s critical that those battling cancer
and/or type 1 or 2 diabetes stay
informed and take necessary precautions,
which may include:
• Controlling underlying medical conditions
better
• Maintaining blood glucose in the target
range
• Engaging in physical activities recommended
by your doctor
• Controlling eating behavior
• Making sure you’re taking all of your
medications correctly
• Social distancing, wearing a face
mask and maintaining hand hygiene
For more information on City of
Hope’s Diabetes & Metabolism
Research Institute, clinical trials and
innovative diabetes research, visit
CityofHope.org/diabetes-awareness.
— Courtesy of BPT
/WWW.QNS.COM
/diabetes-awareness
