Women With Diabetes More Prone to Advanced Stage Breast Cancer

New findings published in Breast Cancer Research and Treatment may shed more light on mortality rates among women with diabetes.

Specifically, researchers found a strong association between diabetic women and later-stage breast cancer.

"Our findings suggest that women with diabetes may be predisposed to more advanced-stage breast cancer, which may be a contributor to their higher cancer mortality," said Dr. Lorraine Lipscombe, researcher from the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Studies and Women's College Research Institute.

The study also found that advanced-stage breast cancer was most prevalent in younger women, as well as in women who had diabetes for a long time.

Lower mammogram rates

More than 38,000 women with breast cancer were analyzed in the study, 6,115 of whom had diabetes.

Diabetic women were found to be 14 percent more likely to have stage II breast cancer and 21 percent more likely to have stage III breast cancer.

According to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, breast cancer that is categorized as stage II can respond well to treatment, but it is still invasive and has potential to spread to the lymph nodes.

Researchers also found that women with diabetes had lower mammogram rates, which could explain the higher incidence of later-stage breast cancer.

"The researchers suggest that breast cancer screening and detection practices may need to be modified in patients with diabetes to reduce the chances of later-stage detection," a news release on the study stated.

Diabetic women with stage II or stage III breast cancer may have a lower 5-year survival rate beginning at the time of a diagnosis, the study concluded.

Source: EurekAlert!, National Breast Cancer Foundation

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