Association of diabetes mellitus with risk of severe adverse events during chemotherapy for cancer

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a common comorbidity among cancer patients, but its impact of chemotherapy tolerance has not been widely studied. A retrospective cohort study in France included patients who received their first cycle of chemotherapy for gastrointestinal, gynecological, or cancer of unknown primary source. Among the patients with DM (19.5% of all patients) the risk of grade 3 or 4 adverse events within 90 days of the start of chemotherapy was significantly elevated (multivariate OR 1.57; p=0.04). More frequent grade 3 or 4 AEs in DM patients were infection (26%), hematological disorders (13%), endocrine disorders (13%), and deterioration of general condition (13%). The authors conclude that there is a need for better consideration of DM in the personalized care plan to improve chemotherapy tolerance and quality of life of cancer patients with DM.