Type 1 diabetes is a double-edged sword when it comes to cancer risk. According to new research, the metabolic disorder increases the risk for some forms of cancer, but it also lowers the odds of developing other types of the disease.

The study, conducted by University of Edinburgh and published in the journal Diabetologia, found diabetes boosts the risk for stomach, pancreatic, liver, kidney, and endometrial cancers. But the researchers also found women with Type 1 diabetes have a 10 percent reduced risk of developing breast cancer, while men the disorder have a 44 percent reduced risk of prostate cancer, Medical News Today reports.

"It is possible that the relationship between Type 1 diabetes and cancer is different from that observed between Type 2 diabetes and cancer as a result of differences in the underlying disease characteristics, drug therapies and patterns of risk factors, such as obesity," the researchers said.

Type 1 diabetes accounts for around 5 percent of all diabetes cases. It occurs when the pancreas is unable to produce the hormone insulin, resulting in high blood glucose levels, or hyperglycemia, which requires diabetics to check their blood daily and inject insulin.

Lead researcher Dr. Stephanie Read, of the Usher Institute of Population Health Sciences & Informatics at the University of Edinburgh, noted past studies have suggested that people with diabetes have a 20-25 percent greater risk of cancer than those without diabetes.

But those studies have primarily involved people with Type 2 diabetes. That’s why Read and her colleagues compared cancer rates among individuals with Type 1 diabetes in five countries — Australia, Denmark, Finland, Scotland, and Sweden. In total, they identified 9,149 cancer cases, then compared the cancer rates of people with Type 1 diabetes with that of the general public.

Among the findings:

• Men with Type 1 diabetes were at no higher risk than men without the condition.
• Women with Type 1 diabetes had a 7 percent greater overall cancer risk than those without it.
• Diabetic men were 23 percent more likely to develop stomach cancer; for diabetic women the risk for cancer was 78 percent greater than the general public.
• Both men and women with diabetes were also at greater risk for cancers of the liver (two-fold for men, 55 percent for women), pancreas (53 percent for men, 25 percent for women) and kidney (30 percent for men, 47 percent for women), while women also had a 42 percent increased risk for endometrial cancer.
• Women with diabetes had a 10 reduced risk of breast cancer, while men with diabetes had a 44 percent reduced risk of prostate cancer, which the team says may explain why no increased overall cancer risk was identified among men with Type 1 diabetes.

About 1.25 million Americans have Type 1 diabetes, which is most commonly diagnosed in children and young adults.