title: Cancer in south Karnataka and its paradoxical relation to diabetes mellitus.
abstract: The present work identifies a high incidence of oral cancer in south Karnataka. The primary reason for this could be due to extensive addiction to tobacco alone or tobacco and alcohol in most of these patients. The next in intensity was cancer of the breast and cervix among the cancer patients surveyed in south Karnataka. Majority of these patients had no specific addiction and the exact reason for this high incidence remains unclear. Only a small percentage of patients exhibited other types of organ related cancer. It has been reported that the incidence percentage of diabetes mellitus and cancer in India, parallel each other. However, we observed a low incidence of diabetes mellitus patients also having cancer in south Karnataka. Though the exact reason for this remains unclear an attempt has been made here to explain this phenomenon, hypothetically using information in literature, which suggests a suppression of cellular regenerative activity by sugar and sugar phosphates. Cellular regenerative activity is well known to be a prerequisite for cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Kasturba Medical College, 575 004 Bejai, Mangalore.
authors.forename: Maliyannar
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Itagappa
authors.forename: Shrinivas B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Rao
keywords: Cancer; blood sugar; cellular proliferation; diabetes mellitus; tobacco