Cancer affecting the kidneys and renal pelvis ranks among the top 10 most common cancers in the world, with renal cell carcinoma the most frequently diagnosed kidney cancer type. And though this type of cancer affects a variety of people around the globe, it’s particularly on the rise in the more developed regions, including North American and Europe. For the last several years, a majority of evidence has pointed to smoking, hypertension and obesity as the most established risk factors. But new research further highlights the significant influence that diabetes plays in the development of RCC, especially among the female population.
[Read: 11 Ways to Save on Diabetes Supplies.]
To start, a brief explanation of diabetes is in order. The medical term for this group of diseases that affect how the human body uses glucose is diabetes mellitus, and it’s classified into two types. Type 1 diabetes can develop at any age, though it most frequently first appears during childhood or the teen years. Type 2 diabetes is the most common diabetes type, and while it can develop at any age, it most often presents in people over age 40. A just-right balance of glucose in the blood stream is essential because it provides the cell energy that comprises our muscles and tissues. And it’s also the brain’s main fuel source. Diabetes elevates glucose levels beyond the normal balance and can result in a number of symptoms and health risks, including kidney damage and increased kidney cancer risk.
The kidneys are two organs in the human body you can think of as 24-hours-a-day housekeepers. Each located on either side of the spine and just above the waist, the kidneys are responsible for filtering and cleaning impurities out of our blood. The result of all that cleaning is a waste product that’s carried into the bladder and eventually out of our bodies via our urine, which is a product also produced by the kidneys. Kidney cancer, or in this case renal cell carcinoma, is a type that begins in the lining of small tubes located inside the kidney. Unfortunately, a large number of kidney cancer cases of this type don’t produce obvious symptoms until the cancer has advanced to a later stage. Once that occurs, the signs and symptoms can include blood in the urine, a mass in the abdomen, side pain that doesn’t seem to go away, decreased appetite, unintentional weight loss and anemia, a condition that can occur with the blood doesn’t have a healthy enough number of red blood cells. Though we know that obesity and smoking are the two most common risk factors for RCC, it’s also a cancer type that’s most common in older men.
[See: 10 Myths About Diabetes.]
While the link between diabetes and kidney cancer is one that has been identified and studied for quite some time, new research is shining an important light on another another link in the diabetes-kidney cancer chain: women. A study of more than 100,000 female participants that was recently published in the medical journal Diabetes Care showed that diabetes is associated with an increased risk of RCC in women, but not in men. The study noted that women with Type 2 diabetes had a 1.5-fold increase in their risk of development RCC compared to women who did not have Type 2 Diabetes. Further, the study noted that Type 2 diabetes among men was not associated with a significant risk of developing RCC.
[See: 5 Ways to Reduce Your Risk of Developing Kidney Disease.]
Though the purpose of this study was not necessarily intended to identify a cause for the diabetes-kidney cancer connection, there’s plenty we do know about the risk factors for each that can help everyone (not just women) reduce their risk. Your doctor is a great first place to start. He or she can help you manage a diabetic condition while you take the initiative to make healthy lifestyle changes on your own that can reverse the effects all together in some cases. This has a significant amount to do with your diet. It’s important for it to be rich in a variety of fruits and vegetables, while also reducing and eliminating highly processed foods or those loaded with added sugar. While this may seem easier said than done, there are at least a few meal subscription services that have made a commitment to offering customers meal plans tailored to their dietary needs, including those trying to manage diabetes. Increasing physical activity is another important way to help manage and stave off diabetic conditions. Aim for 30 minutes of heart-pumping activity each day, and go slow at first if you need to. Finally, if you smoke, take the steps to quit now. You’ll be doing so much more for your overall health than just reducing your kidney cancer risk. It’s worth it.
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Kidney Cancer and Type 2 Diabetes: What’s the Connection? originally appeared on usnews.com
