Female patients with diabetes may have a higher risk of developing colorectal cancer, and discussing annual screenings with primary care doctors can help prevent the development of the disease.

According to findings presented at the 2010 meeting of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA), researchers discovered that women aged 55 to 69 with type 2 diabetes are twice as likely to suffer from colorectal cancer.

Researchers used the 1986 Iowa Women’s Health Study as background information, which was collected from approximately 38,000 patients. The researchers had discovered that 2,361 of the patients who enrolled in the study had type 2 diabetes and about 1,200 had been diagnosed with several types of colorectal cancer.

Furthermore, tissue samples were also taken from each patient, resulting in the discovery of three types of molecular markers found in both diseases.

“Our findings may lead to new strategies for colon cancer screenings, chemotherapy and chemoprevention in women with diabetes,” said Anthony Razzak, a Mayo Clinic fellow and presenter at the conference.” He added that “knowing that diabetic women have these findings should help facilitate more appropriate colorectal cancer prevention and treatment options.”

In 2009, there were an estimated 106,100 new cases of colon cancer diagnosed in U.S. patients. This included approximately 54,090 women and 52,010 men, according to the American Cancer Society.