Weight loss drugs could benefit breast cancer patients with obesity or overweight

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2026-05-12 01:00

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People with obesity or overweight and breast cancer could see their chances of survival increase, and/or the likelihood of their cancer returning decrease, by taking the diabetes and weight loss drugs known as glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) - such as Ozempic and Wegovy. The researchers looked at close to 840,000 patients with breast cancer and compared smaller subsets of them based on whether they were taking a GLP-1 RA or other diabetes drugs. The team say the GLP-1 RA group had lower chances of their cancer recurring, and better chances of survival at a 10-year follow-up, compared to no meds, or antidiabetic medication.

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Journal/
conference: JAMA Network Open

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: Virginia Commonwealth University, USA | Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center, USA

Funder: Supported in part by the Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center Biostatistics Shared Resource, which was supported in part with funding from National Institutes of Health National Cancer Institute Cancer Center Support grant P30CA016059, and by the C. Kenneth and DianneWright Center for Clinical and Translational Research, supported in part by Clinical and Translational Science Awards grant UM1TR004360.

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