Diabetes And Hypertension Make Colon Cancer More Deadly

Colon cancer is a widespread problem, killing about 50,000 Americans a year. Unfortunately, if you have colon cancer as well as diabetes or high blood pressure, your odds of beating this cancer drop precipitously.

Research in Philadelphia at Temple University School of Medicine and Fox Chase Cancer Center shows that colon cancer victims with diabetes or high blood pressure have a significantly greater risk of the cancer returning after treatment and dying, compared to colon cancer patients without either condition.

“Our results suggest that patients with early stage colon cancer who also have diabetes or hypertension may need to be followed more closely for recurrence and could potentially benefit from broader use of adjuvant chemotherapy,” says researcher Nestor Esnaola.