High body mass index and type 2 diabetes influence whether or not someone survives colon cancer, researchers say.

Both conditions are risk factors for developing colon cancer. Two new studies find they both also impact a patient's prognosis being diagnosed with colon cancer. The study findings have been published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

The first study involved over 2,000 people diagnosed with colon cancer in 1992; follow-ups continued through 2008. During the course of the study, 851 people died. Those who were obese at the beginning of the study were 68 percent more likely to die from heart disease, 35 percent more likely to die of colon cancer, and 30 percent more likely to die of any cause.

The second study involved over 2,000 people diagnosed with colon or rectal that had not spread to other parts of the body. There were 842 deaths during the course of this study, which took place about the same period of time as the first study. Those with type 2 diabetes had a 53 percent greater overall chance of dying, and a 29 percent higher rate of dying from colon cancer than those without type 2 diabetes. They also had double to quadruple the risk of dying from heart disease.

More than 1 million people in the U.S. have survived colon cancer, and that number has increased in the past two decades, the studies note.