Study: Chronic Insulin Resistance Appears Not Linked to Colorectal Cancer

Chronic hyperinsulinemia, a condition largely responsible for hunger, cravings and weight gain observed in many people who are obese, does not appear to increase the risk of colorectal cancer, according to a report in the International Journal of Cancer.

Also known as chronic insulin resistance, chronic hyperinsulinemia is characterized by elevated insulin levels in the blood and has been linked to obesity, hypertension, cardiovascularproblems, and diabetes. Some researchers also have suggested it may increase colon cancer risk.

But in a study of 168 men and women who developed colorectal cancer and 336 people without the disease, Swedish researchers said they found "no significant relationship of plasma insulin with risk of colon or rectal cancer.

They said that when blood samples were taken from study participants after more than four hours of fasting, insulin levels "showed a moderate but still nonsignificant association with colorectal cancer risk.

"Our results only moderately support a possible relationship of chronic hyperinsulinemia with colon cancer risk," the researchers concluded.

Other sources: American Journal of Gastroenterology