Figure 2. Hypotheses potentially explaining the association between diabetes and colorectal cancer.
Two major potential relationships have been depicted. A. Common risk factors (e.g. diet, genetic) favor both diabetes and colorectal cancer; B. Diabetes favors cancer development. These potential relationships are put in context with the occurrence of other diabetes complications such a chronic kidney disease. Obesity is a known risk factor for both colorectal cancer and diabetic kidney disease.