10th International Conference on Advanced Technologies and Treatments for Diabetes(ATTD) took place in February 15-18, 2016 in Paris, France. ‘Better outcomes in type 2 diabetes management with a user friendly flash glucose monitoring system- Freestyle Librepro’ was presented as an Oral Presentation at the Conference by Dr.Jothydev Kesavadev. ‘Is cancer screening in diabetes justified? insights from electronic medical records.’ was presented in e-poster discussion by Gopika Krishnan.

There is a growing concern on the increased risk of cancers in patients with diabetes. Research findings presented at the Advanced Technologies and Treatments in Diabetes, the biggest diabetes technology convention at Paris, France today revealed a 2 fold or higher incidence of various cancers in diabetes patients. Cancers of the liver, pancreas and prostate were found to be predominant among males(16%) whereas malignancy of the breast was found to be maximum in females(46%) with diabetes. Given the fact that these sub group of patients were asymptomatic at the time of detection, deeply signifies the importance of routine cancer screening in diabetes patients. Cancers when detected well in advance are, most of the time curable. On the contrary, when detected at an advanced stage it would add on to the economic burden, leave alone the trauma associated with this disease. Leading researcher, Dr.Jothydev Kesavadev, while presenting the research findings stressed upon the economic benefits of physical examination and using cancer biomarkers, simple blood tests, for detecting malignancies at a very early stage.

In yet another study presented from Jothydev's Diabetes Research Centers, the benefits of continuous glucose monitoring in diabetes patients were discussed. The study performed in 388 diabetes patients who underwent this simple 14 days monitoring could keep dangerous low sugar episodes at bay and significantly reduce their blood glucose levels. The 14 day glucose profile when interpreted is supposed to motivate the patient and help plan his diet, exercise and medication regimen which translates to better treatment outcomes and cost effectiveness in the long run. Though it takes extra time, effort and money to perform and interpret these investigations, it drastically reduces the long term cost of treating diabetes.

Dr.Arun Shankar, Dr.Ashwin David, Gopika Krishnan, Geethu Sanal, Lekshmy Ramachandran, Sunitha Jothydev represented the research team.