Diabetes and its treatment impact prognosis in patients with breast cancer

the Oncology Nurse Advisor take:

Pre-existing diabetes increases risk of total mortality among women with breast cancer. This conclusion comes from a study that assessed the impact of pre-existing diabetes and diabetes treatment on prognosis for patients with breast cancer. Researchers followed 8,108 women in the Women’s Health Initiative with centrally confirmed breast cancer diagnosed between 1998 an 2013. The women were followed through the date of death or September 20, 2013. Self-reports and face-to-face reviews of current medication containers were used to gather information on the patients’ diabetes and diabetes treatment. The study showed that risk of overall mortality, among those who took insulin or had longer duration of diabetes in particular, was higher in women with diabetes compared with those who did not have diabetes. However, the disease was not associated with breast cancer-specific mortality regardless of treatment or duration. This study demonstrates that increased mortality in patients with diabetes is more closely associated with greater risk of dying from diseases other than breast cancer; thus, careful attention to cardiovascular risk factors and other noncancer conditions should be a significant part of the continuum of care for patients with breast cancer.