Sugar: A Factor for Cancer

A major European study has found that women with high blood sugar levels are at an increased risk of developing cancer.

High blood sugar levels can be caused by eating too much sugary food and also by disease conditions such as diabetes.

The study, which looked at 64,500 people over the course of 13 years, linked high blood sugar with cancers of the pancreas, skin, womb, and urinary tract.

High blood sugar was also linked to breast cancer for women under 49.

Women in the top quarter of blood sugar readings had a 26 percent higher chance of developing cancer than those in the bottom quarter.

The research also found evidence that rates of unusually high blood sugar levels increase with advancing age.

Diabetes Care, Vol. 30, No. 3, March 2007: 561-567 

BBC News March 21, 2007