Ozempic-like weight loss and diabetes drugs may reduce risk of several cancers

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2024-07-06 01:00

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Ozempic and other drugs like it - known as Glucagon-Like Peptide 1 Receptor Agonists (GLP-1RA) - may reduce the risk of obesity-related cancers more than other types of weight loss and diabetes drugs, according to international research. The team investigated health record data on over a million people with type 2 diabetes who were either taking insulins, metformin or a GLP-1RA. Looking for diagnoses of 13 cancers associated with obesity over 15 years, the researchers say those taking a GLP-1RA had a lower risk of being diagnosed with 10 of the cancers. These include oesophageal, colorectal, endometrial, gallbladder, kidney, liver, ovarian, and pancreatic cancer as well as meningioma - the most common type of brain tumor - and multiple myeloma - a type of blood cancer - the researchers say.

Media release

From: JAMA

Glucagon-Like Peptide 1 Receptor Agonists and 13 Obesity-Associated Cancers in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes

About The Study: Glucagon-like peptide receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) were associated with lower risks of specific types of obesity-associated cancers compared with insulins or metformin in patients with type 2 diabetes in this study. These findings provide preliminary evidence of the potential benefit of GLP-1RAs for cancer prevention in high-risk populations and support further preclinical and clinical studies for the prevention of certain obesity-associated cancers.

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Journal/
conference: JAMA Network Open

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, USA

Funder: We acknowledge support from National Cancer Institute Case Comprehensive Cancer Center (grant Nos. CA221718 and CA043703), American Cancer Society (grant No. RSG-16-049-01–MPC), The Landon Foundation–American Association for Cancer Research (award No. 15-20-27-XU), NIH Director’s New Innovator Award Program (award No. DP2HD084068), National Institute on Aging (grant Nos. AG057557, AG061388, AG062272, and AG07664), and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (grant No. AA029831).

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