A framework for modeling the complex interaction between breast cancer and diabetes

In 2010, over 200,000 women in the U.S. were diagnosed with invasive breast cancer, and an estimated 17% of those women died from the disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Also in 2010, the CDC reported that 12.6 million women had diabetes, the seventh leading cause of death in the U.S. Recent medical literature provides conflicting evidence regarding a link between insulin resistance and breast cancer risk. Although models have characterized these prevalent diseases individually, little research has been conducted regarding the interaction between breast cancer and diabetes. We build a simulation model framework that explores this complex relationship, with an initial goal of assessing the prognosis for women diagnosed with diabetes considering their breast cancer risk. Using data from national survey and surveillance consortium studies, we estimate morbidity and mortality. This framework could be extended to study other diseases that interact with breast cancer.