How do the new diabetes drugs stack up against the old for cancer patients?

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2025-07-19 01:00

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New diabetes drugs including Ozempic and Mounjaro are linked to similar or improved survival benefits for cancer patients compared to older diabetes drugs, according to international research. Some diabetes drugs have outperformed others in previous research on cancer patients with type 2 diabetes, so researchers tested glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) against sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2is) and dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors (DPP4is) by matching cancer patients taking the different medications and looking at which participants died of any cause during the course of the study. The researchers say GLP-1RAs were linked to an improved chance of survival compared to DPP4is, but a similar chance of survival to SGLT2is.

Media release

From: JAMA

About The Study: In older patients with cancer and type 2 diabetes, glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1RA) use was associated with lower all-cause mortality compared with dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor (DPP4i) use, with no significant difference relative to sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitor. The survival benefit over DPP4i persisted across age, sex, non-Hispanic white race, obesity status, and several cancer types (colorectal, lung, and breast).

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Research JAMA, Web page The URL will go live after the embargo ends

Journal/
conference: JAMA Network Open

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: University of Florida, USA

Funder: Thisworkwas supported by the National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (grant No. R01DK133465).

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