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Copyright ©The Author(s) 2021. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Methodol. May 20, 2021; 11(3): 23-45
Published online May 20, 2021. doi: 10.5662/wjm.v11.i3.23
Epidemiological link between obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus and cancer
Cornelius J Fernandez, Annu Susan George, Nikhila A Subrahmanyan, Joseph M Pappachan
Cornelius J Fernandez, Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Pilgrim Hospital, United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust, Boston PE21 9QS, United Kingdom
Annu Susan George, Department of Medical Oncology, VPS Lakeshore Hospital, Cochin 682040, India
Nikhila A Subrahmanyan, Department of Internal Medicine, Al-Azhar Medical College, Thodupuzha 685605, India
Joseph M Pappachan, Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Preston PR2 9HT, United Kingdom
Joseph M Pappachan, Faculty of Science, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester M15 6BH, United Kingdom
Joseph M Pappachan, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, The University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, United Kingdom
Author contributions: Fernandez CJ and George AS performed extensive literature review, drafted the initial manuscript, created the pictures and share the first authorship; Subrahmanyan NA added points with additional literature review, help with the pictures and revision; Pappachan JM conceived the idea, inputted additional scientific points especially the obesity and metabolic aspects of the paper, revised the entire work critically, and approved the final version for publication; all the authors contributed to revision of the paper after peer reviews.
Conflict-of-interest statement: Dr. Pappachan and co-authors have nothing to declare.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Joseph M Pappachan, MD, FRCP, Consultant, Honorary Professor, Senior Researcher, Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Royal Preston Hospital, Sharoe Green Lane, Preston PR2 9HT, United Kingdom. drpappachan@yahoo.co.in
Received: January 13, 2021
Peer-review started: January 13, 2021
First decision: March 1, 2021
Revised: March 2, 2021
Accepted: March 19, 2021
Article in press: March 19, 2021
Published online: May 20, 2021
Processing time: 119 Days and 0.9 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: Cancer is the second most common cause of death globally, and the complex pathogenic mechanisms in the development of cancer are not yet fully elucidated. The interplay between obesity, type 2 diabetes and some forms of cancer are well known for the past few years. With a steady increase in the obesity and diabetes pandemics, the incidence of cancer is expected to increase exponentially in the coming years. This review discusses the complex pathophysiological mechanisms linking these three major disease entities, to enhance clinician awareness across the globe, and proposes emerging potential therapeutic strategies.