[Breast cancer in diabetic patients].

Unlabelled: Many of the risk factors for postmenopausal breast cancer are related to excess estrogen exposure. Hyperinsulinemia associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus may promote breast cancer via increased peripheral production of estrogens and direct mitogenic effect of insulin itself.

Material And Methods: Our retro-prospective study compares breast cancer characteristics between two study groups consisting of 53 diabetic and 391 non-diabetic patients diagnosed and treated for breast cancer.

Results: Almost 12% of the patients presenting breast cancer were diabetic and menopause occurred at 48.71 years for diabetic patients and at 49.87 years for the non-diabetic ones. Type 2 diabetes mellitus patients were treated by diet and oral agents, had greater body mass index (32.18 kg/m2), presented well differentiated (57% in G1) but greater (68% in T2) tumors and an increased incidence of lobular (13%) and mixed type (19%) carcinoma.

Conclusions: Diet and physical exercises as methods for preventing type 2 diabetes mellitus together with screening strategies among diabetic patients could contribute to decreasing the incidence of breast cancer.