July 5, 2024 – Recent research into popular weight-loss drugs has uncovered surprising advantages beyond their intended use, similar to lowering the chance of fatal heart attacks. And now there could also be one other unexpected profit: People with type 2 diabetes who took these drugs had a lower risk of 10 out of 13 obesity-related cancers in comparison with those that used insulin therapy.
This is the results of a study published on Friday. JAMA network openedThere, researchers studied glucagon-like peptide receptor agonists (often known as GLP-1RAs), a category of medication used to treat diabetes and obesity. Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound, which have recently gained notoriety because they're related to rapid weight reduction, contain GLP-1RAs.
For the study, they examined the electronic health records of 1.7 million patients who had type 2 diabetes, had not previously been diagnosed with obesity-related cancers, and had been prescribed GLP-1RAs, insulins or metformin between March 2005 and November 2018.
The scientists found that folks who took GLP-1RAs had a “significant risk reduction” in 10 of 13 obesity-related cancers in comparison with patients who took insulin. These 10 cancers were esophageal cancer, colon cancer, uterine cancer, gallbladder cancer, kidney cancer, liver cancer, ovarian cancer and pancreatic cancer, in addition to meningioma and multiple myeloma.
Compared with patients taking insulin, there was no statistically significant reduction in the chance of stomach cancer and no reduced risk of breast and thyroid cancer in patients taking GLP-1RAs, the study said.
However, the study found no reduction in cancer risk with GLP-1RAs in comparison with the drug metformin. (Metformin is used to lower blood sugar levels in individuals with type 2 diabetes.)
While the study results suggested that these drugs could also be higher than insulin at reducing the chance of certain obesity-related cancers, more research is required, it said.