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Current Oncology
Volume 20
Issue 6
10.3747/co.20.1499
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Current Oncology is published by MDPI from Volume 28 Issue 1 (2021). Previous articles were published by another publisher in Open Access under a CC-BY (or CC-BY-NC-ND) licence, and they are hosted by MDPI on mdpi.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with Multimed Inc..
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Article

Glucocorticoid-Induced Hyperglycemia Is Prevalent and Unpredictable for Patients Undergoing Cancer Therapy: An Observational Cohort Study

by
D. Harris
1,*,†,
A. Barts
1,†,
J. Connors
2,
M. Dahl
1,
T. Elliott
1,
J. Kong
1,
T. Keane
3,
D. Thompson
1,
S. Stafford
1,
E. Ur
1 and
S. Sirrs
1
1
Division of Endocrinology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
2
Division of Medical Oncology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
3
Division of Radiation Oncology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
These authors contributed equally to the study.
Curr. Oncol. 2013, 20(6), 532-538; https://doi.org/10.3747/co.20.1499
Submission received: 5 September 2013 / Revised: 8 October 2013 / Accepted: 12 November 2013 / Published: 1 December 2013

Abstract

Background: Patients with cancer are often treated with glucocorticoids (GCS) as part of therapy, which may cause hyperglycemia. We sought to define the prevalence of, and risk factors for, hyperglycemia in this setting. Methods: Adult patients taking GC as part of therapy protocols for primary brain tumour or metastasis, for lymphoma, or for bone marrow transplant (BMT) were screened with random glucometer measurements taken at least 3 hours after the last dose GCS. Results: We screened 90 patients [44.4% women, 55.6% men; mean age: 59.6 years (range: 25–82 years); mean body mass index (BMI): 26.4 kg/m2 (range: 15.8–45.3 kg/m2)] receiving GC as part of cancer treatment. Mean total daily GC dose in the group was 238.5 mg (range: 30–1067 mg) hydrocortisone equivalents. Hyperglycemia (glucose ≥ 8.0 mmol/L) was found in 58.9% (53 of 90), and diabetes mellitus (DM)–range hyperglycemia (glucose ≥ 11.1 mmol/L) in 18.9% (17 of 90). The mean time from GC ingestion to glucometer testing was 5.5 hours (range: 3–20 hours). Presence of hyperglycemia did not correlate with traditional DM risk factors such as age, sex, BMI, and personal or family history of DM. A longer interval from GC dose to testing (p < 0.05), a higher GC dose (p = 0.04), and a shorter interval between the preceding meal and testing (p = 0.02) were risk factors for hyperglycemia in some patient groups. Conclusions: Glucocorticoid-induced hyperglycemia is common in patients undergoing cancer treatment and cannot be predicted by traditional risk factors for DM. We recommend that all cancer patients receiving GC be screened for hyperglycemia at least 4–6 hours after GC administration.
Keywords: hyperglycemia; glucocorticoids; glucocorticoid-induced diabetes; diabetes mellitus hyperglycemia; glucocorticoids; glucocorticoid-induced diabetes; diabetes mellitus

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MDPI and ACS Style

Harris, D.; Barts, A.; Connors, J.; Dahl, M.; Elliott, T.; Kong, J.; Keane, T.; Thompson, D.; Stafford, S.; Ur, E.; et al. Glucocorticoid-Induced Hyperglycemia Is Prevalent and Unpredictable for Patients Undergoing Cancer Therapy: An Observational Cohort Study. Curr. Oncol. 2013, 20, 532-538. https://doi.org/10.3747/co.20.1499

AMA Style

Harris D, Barts A, Connors J, Dahl M, Elliott T, Kong J, Keane T, Thompson D, Stafford S, Ur E, et al. Glucocorticoid-Induced Hyperglycemia Is Prevalent and Unpredictable for Patients Undergoing Cancer Therapy: An Observational Cohort Study. Current Oncology. 2013; 20(6):532-538. https://doi.org/10.3747/co.20.1499

Chicago/Turabian Style

Harris, D., A. Barts, J. Connors, M. Dahl, T. Elliott, J. Kong, T. Keane, D. Thompson, S. Stafford, E. Ur, and et al. 2013. "Glucocorticoid-Induced Hyperglycemia Is Prevalent and Unpredictable for Patients Undergoing Cancer Therapy: An Observational Cohort Study" Current Oncology 20, no. 6: 532-538. https://doi.org/10.3747/co.20.1499

APA Style

Harris, D., Barts, A., Connors, J., Dahl, M., Elliott, T., Kong, J., Keane, T., Thompson, D., Stafford, S., Ur, E., & Sirrs, S. (2013). Glucocorticoid-Induced Hyperglycemia Is Prevalent and Unpredictable for Patients Undergoing Cancer Therapy: An Observational Cohort Study. Current Oncology, 20(6), 532-538. https://doi.org/10.3747/co.20.1499

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