Cohort profile: The Australian and New Zealand Diabetes and Cancer Collaboration (ANZDCC)

There is now a wealth of data supporting a link between diabetes, and obesity, with cancer. While the data strongly suggests an association, there is less clarity about sitespecific cancers. This is often due to limitations in sample size. Additionally, many studies do not consider important confounding variables such as central adiposity, smoking, and physical activity. In 2010, we initiated the Australian New Zealand Diabetes and Cancer Collaboration (ANZDCC) in order to create a large pooled cohort to investigate factors of diabetes, pre-diabetes, obesity, metabolic syndrome, and hypertension, with cancer risk. We included all longitudinal cohorts in Australia and New Zealand from 1983 onwards with information on diabetes, hypertension, anthropometry, and with a sample size ≥1000. These baseline data
(n=153,025) were linked to the national cancer and mortality registries to obtain longitudinal follow-up of cancer and mortality outcomes for all participants in the pooled cohort. This study will provide insights into the potential mechanisms of cancer; allow a better and fuller assessment of the likely burden and consequences of diabetes and obesity; and in the Australia/New Zealand context, inform clinical practice about the appropriate care of patients with diabetes and obesity