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Does high blood sugar cause cancer?
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
High blood glucose levels are associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer, according to a study conducted by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Yeshiva University.
The results of the study were published in the British Journal Cancer.
According to the American Cancer Society, colorectal cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer and the third leading cause of cancer death in men and women in the United States. Statistics compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for 2007 show that 142,672 men and 69,917 women were diagnosed with colorectal cancer. There were 53,219 deaths from colorectal cancer.
The study involved nearly 5,000 postmenopausal women. At the start of the study and over the next 12 years, the women had their blood sugar and insulin levels measured.
By the end of the 12-year period, 81 of the women had developed colon cancer. The researchers found that elevated baseline glucose levels were associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer.
Women with high blood sugar levels had a twice-high risk of developing colorectal cancer compared to women with normal glucose levels.
Obesity is usually accompanied by elevated levels of insulin in the blood. Researchers previously suspected that obesity influenced the development of colorectal cancer due to elevated insulin levels. However, the latest study has refuted this hypothesis, showing that cancer may be linked to elevated glucose levels.
"The next challenge is to find the mechanism by which chronically elevated blood glucose levels promote colorectal cancer," said lead author Jeffrey Kabat. "It's possible that high glucose levels are linked to increased growth factors and inflammation that stimulate the growth of intestinal polyps, which then lead to cancer."
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