Topic Highlight
Copyright ©2014 Baishideng Publishing Group Co., Limited. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Feb 21, 2014; 20(7): 1701-1711
Published online Feb 21, 2014. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v20.i7.1701
Diabetes and gastric cancer: The potential links
Chin-Hsiao Tseng, Farn-Hsuan Tseng
Chin-Hsiao Tseng, Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei 100, Taiwan
Chin-Hsiao Tseng, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei 100, Taiwan
Farn-Hsuan Tseng, Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90007, United States
Author contributions: Tseng CH designed study and finalized the paper; and Tseng FH searched literature and wrote the first draft.
Correspondence to: Chin-Hsiao Tseng, MD, PhD, Professor, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, No. 7 Chung-Shan South Road, Taipei 100, Taiwan. ccktsh@ms6.hinet.net
Telephone: +886-2-23883578 Fax: +886-2-23883578
Received: October 21, 2013
Revised: November 18, 2013
Accepted: December 5, 2013
Published online: February 21, 2014
Core Tip

Core tip: Epidemiological studies suggested a possible higher risk of gastric cancer in patients with diabetes. This article summarizes the findings in four meta-analyses and proposes some mechanisms explaining the association. Findings in the meta-analyses suggested that the association between diabetes and gastric cancer is more remarkable in females and in the Asian populations. Although the mechanisms for such a link remain to be explored, these may involve shared risk factors between diabetes and gastric cancer (such as obesity, insulin resistance, hyperinsulinemia and smoking), hyperglycemia, Helicobacter pylori infection, high salt intake, medications and comorbidities.