Researchers in Israel have found that Type 2 diabetes appears to reduce the risk of prostate cancer in men, but appears to increase the risk of some cancers in women.

It has been reported that study leaders Dr. Gabriel Chodick and Dr. Varda Shalev of Tel Aviv University's Sackler Faculty of Medicine examined 16,721 people with diabetes and determined the relative cancer risk for men and women.

The study began in 2000 and none of the subjects had a history of cancer. For the next eight years, the researchers documented 1,639 cases of cancers among people with diabetes, and compared it to the cancer rates of people with no diabetes.

Published in the journal Cancer Causes & Control, the study found diabetes may have a preventative effect on conditions like prostate cancer by 47 percent, but increase the risk of colon cancer and cancer of the uterus and ovaries in women.

Chodick said in a statement, "For men, this study is good news. The interaction of diabetes and female hormones appears to exaggerate the risk, and make certain organs like the uterus and ovaries more receptive to certain kinds of cancer."

It was further reported that Chodick encourages diabetic women to be screened for colon cancer earlier and more often than those without diabetes. (With Inputs from Agencies)