Prevalence of diabetes and hospitalization due to poor glycemic control in people with bladder cancer or renal cell carcinoma in Sweden

Background Bladder cancer (BC) and Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) are the most common urogenital cancers among both sexes, with a yearly global incidence of around 500 000 each.

Both BC and RCC have been linked to diabetes.

Poor glycemic control (malglycemia) is a serious consequence of diabetes and a possible consequence of systemic treatments used in BC and RCC.

The objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence of diabetes and use of hospital-based care for malglycemia in people with BC or RCC.

Methods This Swedish retrospective population-based register study used national health-data registers for longitudinal data on cancer incidence covering 15 years, use of hospital-based health care, and filled prescriptions of outpatient medications.

Study endpoints included co-prevalence of diabetes in individuals with BC/RCC, healthcare resource utilization due to malglycemia, use of systemic corticosteroids, and changes in diabetes management for people with concomitant type 2 diabetes.

Results We identified 36,620 and 15,581 individuals diagnosed with BC and RCC, respectively, between 2006 and 2019.

The proportion of individuals registered with diabetes was 24% in BC and 23% in RCC.

An association between BC/RCC and poor glycemic control was found, although the number of malglycemic events in hospital-based care were few (65/59 per 1000 individuals with diabetes and BC/RCC respectively with at least one event).

An earlier switch to insulin-based diabetes management was observed in BC/RCC compared to matched individuals with type 2 diabetes but no cancer.

The results also indicated an association between steroid treatment and poor glycemic control, and that systemic corticosteroids were more common among people with BC/RCC compared to diabetes controls.

Conclusion The high prevalence of diabetes and increased use of systemic corticosteroid treatment observed in this large national study highlights the need for specific clinical management, risk-assessment, and monitoring of individuals with BC/RCC and diabetes.