Diabetes is already tagged as one of the silent killers because it is linked to various complications such as kidney failure. Now, evidences that diabetes can also be linked to cancer are emerging.

A recent study reported that women with diabetes have generally increased their risk of developing cancer by 8 per cent. Men, on the other hand have 9 per cent higher risk of having cancer (excluding prostate cancer).

Moreover, the study found out that the possibility of dying from cancer will increase significantly if you have diabetes.

On a lighter note, the same study concluded that diabetes can be related to the decreased incidence of prostate cancer among men. Reasons behind this are still unclear but the researcher’s data indicated that if you include cancer of the prostate on the mix, men’s chances of getting cancer from diabetes is reduced by 4 per cent.

Lead author Gabriel Lai will present the study before the American Association for Cancer Research on Sunday in Orlando, Florida. Research findings are still thought of as preliminary studies until they are published in a journal.

The study participant’s diabetes was self-reported. Also, the researchers did not indicate whether it is Type 1 Diabetes or Type 2. Furthermore, the study did not indicate information about diabetes management and the kind of medication the participants took. The study head, Gabriel Lai, however said that most of the participants have Type 2 Diabetes as it is more common than the other type.

As of the moment, it is still unclear whether it is the illness per se that is causing the increase risk of cancer, or the medication connected herewith.