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A new study finds that people with type 2 diabetes treated with a type of GLP-1 drug are significantly less likely to be diagnosed with 10 of 13 types of cancer that are linked to obesity.
CNN
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New research suggests that GLP-1 drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy may help lower the risk of certain cancers.
People who are overweight or obese are at higher risk for developing 13 types of cancer, and the longer they are overweight and the more weight they gain, the higher their risk. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 40% of new cancer diagnoses are related to being overweight. In 2021, there were about 170 new diagnoses per 100,000 people. data show.
but, study A study published Friday in the journal JAMA Network Open found that type 2 diabetes patients treated with a type of GLP-1 drug were significantly less likely to be diagnosed with 10 of 13 obesity-related cancers compared with patients who took insulin.
The risks of gallbladder cancer, meningioma, pancreatic cancer, and hepatocellular carcinoma (a type of liver cancer) were reduced by more than half. The risks of ovarian cancer, colorectal cancer, multiple myeloma, esophageal cancer, endometrial cancer, and kidney cancer were also significantly reduced.
According to the CDC, being overweight can lead to changes in the body, including long-term inflammation and higher-than-normal levels of insulin, insulin-like growth factors, and sex hormones that can lead to cancer. GLP-1 drugs also interact with the system involved in insulin production.
The new findings linking GLP-1 treatment to a reduced risk of some cancers are “comparable” to similar benefits associated with intensive lifestyle interventions and metabolic bariatric surgery found in other trials, the study authors write.
However, the study found that GLP-1 treatment was not associated with a reduced risk of postmenopausal breast cancer, the most common type of cancer associated with obesity, according to CDC data.
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There was also no reduction in the risk of stomach or thyroid cancer. Indeed, other studies have found that GLP-1 can interact with the body’s insulin production and have a negative effect on the thyroid gland, and the study authors note that patients should be aware of potential thyroid-related risks listed on their medication packaging.
The new study also found that the risk of being diagnosed with cancer in type 2 diabetes patients was no different between those treated with GLP-1 and those treated with metformin. In fact, the risk of being diagnosed with kidney cancer was higher in patients using GLP-1 than in those taking metformin.
In the study, researchers from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and Metro Health System analyzed more than 10 years of medical records from approximately 1.7 million people with type 2 diabetes.
Although more information is needed about how cancer risk reduction relates to the magnitude of weight loss, the 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,” the study authors write.
