Diabetes & Cancer

It is now well established that Diabetes Mellitus is associated with an increased risk to develop cancer. This relationship has been demonstrated not only in patients with overt Diabetes but also in those with impaired glucose tolerance and impaired fasting glucose. Insulin represents of course a crucial pathway in Diabetes Mellitus. On the other hand, insulin is also a proliferative and anti-apoptotic hormone which is able to bind both insulin and insulin-like growth factor receptor. Increased circulating concentrations of insulin and IGF-I are related to a higher risk of different kind of neoplasias such as breast, colonic, liver and pancreatic cancer. Many other conditions which coexist with Diabetes may represent risk factors for cancer development, while pharmacological compounds chronically used in patients with Diabetes could have a role in favoring or protecting against cancer. In patients with hormone-related cancers, the gonad blocking agents, commonly used as adjuvant therapy, results in a condition of hypogonadism and consequent insulin resistance.

The aim of this Research Topic is to highlight the strong relationship between the main and most common metabolic disease, diabetes mellitus, and tumor development, by investigating the role of the insulin pathway and related factors as well as the role of old and new anti-diabetes drugs. On the other hand, the influence of cancer on the metabolism of glucose will be also investigated. In this attempt, original and review articles will be gathered from leading scientists in the field of cancer and Diabetes.