Szamocka Małgorzata, Ameryk Monika, Meder Agnieszka, Sokup Alina, Świątkowski Maciej. Obesity, type 2 diabetes and hormone replacement therapy vs. colorectal tumors in the elderly. Journal of Education, Health and Sport. 2017;7(6):230-243. eISSN 2391-8306. DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.804629 http://ojs.ukw.edu.pl/index.php/johs/article/view/4530 The journal has had 7 points in Ministry of Science and Higher Education parametric evaluation. Part B item 1223 (26.01.2017). 1223 Journal of Education, Health and Sport eISSN 2391-8306 7 © The Author 2017; This article is published with open access at Licensee Open Journal Systems of Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz, Poland Open Access. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited. This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits unrestricted, non commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited. This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits unrestricted, non commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited. The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests regarding the publication of this paper. Received: 01.06.2017. Revised: 14.06.2017. Accepted: 15.06.2017. Obesity, type 2 diabetes and hormone replacement therapy vs. colorectal tumors in the elderly Małgorzata Szamocka, Monika Ameryk, Agnieszka Meder, Alina Sokup, Maciej Świątkowski Department of Gastroenterology and Nutrition Disorders, Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Poland Corresponding author: Monika Ameryk, Department of Gastroenterology and Nutrition Disorders, the Jan Biziel University Hospital no. 2, ul. K. Ujejskiego 75, 85-168 Bydgoszcz, Poland; tel. +48 52 371 49 12; e-mail: monika.ameryk@gmail.com Summary Aims. A prophylaxis program for the early detection of colorectal cancer carried out by our department since the year 2000 has been extended to include people aged 65 and older. The subjects were asked additional questions regarding their dietary habits and possible coexistence of type 2 diabetes, and women were asked about the use of hormone replacement therapy. A physical examination, including measurements of nutritional status, was conducted. The aim of the study was to assess the effect of overweight, obesity, type 2 diabetes and hormone replacement therapy on the incidence of cancers and adenomas detected by colonoscopy screening in people aged 65 and older. Methods. The study method was standard colonoscopy screening conducted in people aged 65 and older, in whom no clinical signs suggesting the presence of colorectal cancer were observed. The subjects examined provided their answers to a number of questions related to coexisting conditions and medicines taken, and women were asked about their use of hormone replacement therapy in the past. Every subject underwent a thorough physical examination that included basic anthropometric measurements. Results. Subjects with obesity, type 2 diabetes, and women who had used hormone replacement therapy had a greater risk of developing colorectal cancer. Conclusions. The increased risk of colorectal cancer in people with obesity and type 2 diabetes, as well as women undergoing hormone replacement therapy, may be associated with insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1). This polypeptide shows a similarity to insulin, is an active compound in the process of carcinogenesis and plays a role in the regulation of cell growth, proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis. Elucidating the molecular mechanism of action of IGF-1 is important for identifying the causes of tumorigenesis and can also be of significance for the future development of effective methods of treating malignancies. Keywords: colorectal cancer, colonoscopy screening, obesity, type 2 diabetes, hormone replacement therapy, insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1)