Objective:

Describe the state of the art on epidemiological studies that assess risk associations between colorectal cancer and type 2 diabetes, and Colombian and international public health policies to reduce these pathologies.

Methodology:

Qualitative systematic review on epidemiological studies that assess risk associations between colorectal cancer and type 2 diabetes, published in Spanish and English in PubMed®, United States National Library of Medicine (U.S NLM®), Embase®, Literatura Latinoamericana y del Caribe en Ciencias de la Salud (Lilacs®) and Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO®), before 30 June 2019. Furthermore, we describe the international and national policies for the control of diabetes and colorectal cancer.

Results:

Of 251 studies assessed for eligibility, we included 32 original case-control studies, prospective and retrospective cohort studies, retrospective studies with a case-control approach and retrospective studies with a case-cohort approach as they showed risk associations for colon or rectal cancer in type 2 diabetic individuals. There are five international regulations for the control of diabetes and cancer, and two Colombian regulations for the control of both pathologies.

Conclusions:

The global epidemiological evidence indicates that individuals with type 2 diabetes have an increased risk of cancer of the colon or rectum, compared with non-diabetics, dependent on ethnicity and sex. International and Colombian public health policies have not been able to significantly reduce the burden of both pathologies, nor the common risk factors between both conditions, nor recognize the epidemiological and biological links between type 2 diabetes and colorectal cancer.

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