Cancer gap widens for adults with type 2 diabetes

Clinical takeaway: Consider reinforcing participation in recommended cancer screening programs, particularly for colorectal and postmenopausal breast cancer, as cancer appears to be an increasingly important long-term complication of type 2 diabetes.

Cancer has become the leading cause of death among people with type 2 diabetes (T2D) in several high-income countries. At the same time, advances in cardiovascular and kidney disease prevention mean clinicians are increasingly focused on other long-term complications that may affect this population.

In a nationwide Danish registry study, to be presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) 2026 Annual Meeting and not yet peer reviewed, investigators analyzed data spanning 1996 to 2022 from the country's entire adult population. They identified more than 75,000 first cancers among people with T2D and more than 635,000 among those without diabetes. Overall cancer incidence remained higher in people with T2D, and the gap widened over time. During 2010-2022, cancer incidence was 12% higher among men with T2D and 22% higher among women with T2D than among their counterparts without diabetes, compared with 9% and 15%, respectively, during 1996-2009.

The excess burden was driven largely by obesity-related cancers. From 2010-2022, obesity-related cancers occurred 45% more often in men and 30% more often in women with T2D than in those without diabetes. Colorectal cancer incidence was 17% higher in men and 14% higher in women with T2D, while postmenopausal breast cancer incidence was 8% higher among women with diabetes.

Patterns varied by cancer type. Lung cancer incidence was 23% higher in men and 25% higher in women with T2D during the most recent study period, whereas prostate cancer incidence was 19% lower among men with diabetes. Notably, cancer incidence among people without diabetes declined in later years, while rates among those with T2D remained elevated or continued to rise, particularly among women.

"Our findings underline the growing cancer burden among people with T2D and highlight the need to prioritize cancer prevention and early detection as part of long-term diabetes care," said lead investigator Dr Tinne Laurberg.

Source: Laurberg T, et al. (2026 Sep 22) EASD 2026 Annual Meeting. People with type 2 diabetes have a higher risk of developing cancer, and over the past 25 years cancer incidence has increased more among people with type 2 diabetes than among those without diabetes. Abstract 224.