Daily insulin dose is associated with cancer risk among individuals with type 1 diabetes, according to a research letter published online 28 July in JAMA Oncology.

Wenjun Zhong, PhD, from Merck Research Labs in West Point, Pennsylvania, and Yuanjie Mao, MD, PhD, from the Diabetes Institute at Ohio University in Athens, examined the incidence of cancer among individuals with type 1 diabetes (T1DM) during a 28-year follow-up period.

The researchers used data for 1441 patients in North America who were enrolled in the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial and the Epidemiology of Diabetes Interventions and Complications study.

By year 18, 1304 patients had completed the annual cancer history update. One patient was excluded due to a previous cancer diagnosis.