Diabetics who are taking blood sugar medication could be diagnosed with cancer, researchers have discovered this week. The drugs – designed to lower blood-sugar levels – are skewing the results of cancer screening tests, such as positron emission tomography (PET). As a result, diabetics are getting false-positive readings – seeing cancer that isn’t actually there. This could trigger a whole programme of cancer-fighting agents, such as chemotherapy – putting the patient through unnecessary suffering and debilitating effects. Researchers form the St Louis University Hospital, who made the discovery, are urging radiologists and others using the PET technology to take into account the patient’s drug history when reading the results. (Source: Proceedings of the Society of Nuclear Medicine’s 57th annual meeting).
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