Weight Loss Drugs Like Ozempic Linked to Dramatic Shift in Cancer Survival
Popular weight-loss and diabetes treatments like Ozempic and Wegovy have been linked to a reduced risk of cancer spreading in patients with several common cancers.
New research examined patients with stage I-III cancers who began taking GLP-1 receptor agonists after their cancer diagnosis.
The researchers found that patients who received the medications were less likely to progress to stage IV, or metastatic, disease with multiple tumor types.
"The fact the signal was this strong across 4:7 was quite surprising and encouraging," Mark David Orland, author of the study, told Newsweek in an email.
"While it leads to a lot of future studies needing to be done, the potential class affect of these drugs is intriguing."
Stock image: Blue Ozempic pens with yellow measuring tape.
Many Uses
GLP-1 drugs were originally developed to treat Type 2 diabetes , but they have become widely used for obesity management, weight loss and a lower risk of cardiovascular problems associated with both diabetes and obesity.
The rapid adoption and spread of the drugs prompted researchers to investigate whether the medications might have additional effects beyond weight loss and blood sugar management.
Previous research has shown that they can be helpful for people living with substance-use disorders, as well as conditions like ADHD .
Statistical Significance
The new study, meanwhile, found that GLP-1 receptor agonists may have an impact on immune responses and other biological pathways that are involved in cancer development and progression.
Researchers identified more than 10,000 patients with seven different cancers: Breast , prostate, non-small cell lung cancer , colorectal cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, renal cell carcinoma and pancreatic cancer.
Patients taking GLP-1 drugs were matched with similar patients receiving DPP-4 inhibitors, another class of diabetes medication. The primary outcome was whether patients' cancers progressed to stage IV disease.
According to the study, GLP-1RA use was associated with lower rates of metastatic progression in six of the seven cancer types evaluated.
The reductions reached statistical significance with four cancers: non-small cell lung, breast, colorectal and liver cancer.
A 'Dramatic' Reduction
Researchers reported no significant increase in adverse events among patients receiving GLP-1 drugs compared with the control group.
The authors concluded that "GLP-1RA initiation after cancer diagnosis was associated with dramatically reduced metastatic progression across multiple solid tumors."
The researchers also found support for the observation in an analysis of The Cancer Genome Atlas, a large cancer database.
Higher expression of the GLP-1 receptor within tumors was linked to improved overall survival. The strongest effects were observed in breast cancer.
"We are hoping to determine the veracity of the signal while also better understanding how it might occur," Orland told Newsweek . "We expect, while there may be a common 'anti-inflammatory' pathway in the cancers with a signal, the nuance will defer and the need for specificity in future studies will be needed."
Orland added: "To say [GLP-1s] will prevent progression, or that they should be an additive to current chemo regimens, would be hasty as this exact research in all cancer types is needed."
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