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The Impact of Diabetes on Gynecologic Cancer: Current Status and Future Directions

  • Gynecologic Oncology (R Salani, Section Editor)
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Abstract

Diabetes mellitus has reached epidemic proportions in both the USA and worldwide with most authorities reporting a doubling in the prevalence of diabetes over the last 20–30 years. While this epidemic is closely tied to obesity, diabetes mellitus presents potential clinical challenges over and above that observed with obesity alone. From a women’s healthcare prospective, this rise in diabetes may impact a woman’s health across her lifespan. More specifically, diabetes impacts not only pregnancy as well as other medical conditions but increases the risk for the development of various malignancies. From a gynecologic cancer standpoint, diabetes is most closely associated with endometrial adenocarcinomas, although increasing attention is being placed upon diabetes and ovarian cancer. Attention is also being placed on the potential role of metformin and its impact on outcomes in diabetics with cancer, as well as a potential preventative and/or adjunctive therapy for gynecologic cancer.

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Conflict of Interest

Brittany Lees declares no conflict of interest.

Charles A. Leath, III declares contracted research in Ovarian Cancer from Novartis and from Astra Zeneza, outside the submitted work.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

Support

Funding support was provided in part by NIH to CAL 5K12HD0012580-15.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 619 19th Street South, Room 10250, Birmingham, AL, 35249, USA

    Brittany Lees

  2. Division of Gynecologic Oncology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 619 19th Street South, Room 10250, Birmingham, AL, 35249, USA

    Charles A. Leath III

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  1. Brittany Lees
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  2. Charles A. Leath III
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Correspondence to Charles A. Leath III.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Gynecologic Oncology

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Lees, B., Leath, C.A. The Impact of Diabetes on Gynecologic Cancer: Current Status and Future Directions. Curr Obstet Gynecol Rep 4, 234–239 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13669-015-0127-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13669-015-0127-x

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