💊 GLP-1 drugs, such as Ozempic, linked to lower risk of cancer progression

• Patients with early-stage cancer who took GLP-1 drugs had fewer cases of disease progression compared to patients on other diabetes medication.
• Among women with breast cancer, more than 95 percent of GLP-1 users were alive after five years, compared to 89.5 percent of non-users.
• Women who had taken a GLP-1 drug had about 25 percent lower risk of receiving a breast cancer diagnosis.

Four studies point in the same direction

Four new studies show that people taking GLP-1 drugs such as Novo Nordisk's Ozempic and Eli Lilly's Mounjaro may have better outcomes when it comes to cancer. The results include reduced tumor progression, lower mortality, and lower risk of developing breast cancer.

A study from the Cleveland Clinic Cancer Institute followed more than 10,000 patients with early-stage cancer who started taking GLP-1 drugs after their diagnosis. The researchers compared their disease progression with patients taking a different type of diabetes medication. Patients on GLP-1 drugs were less likely to see their cancer spread.

Lung cancer progression cut in half

Among lung cancer patients, the share who developed advanced disease fell from 22 percent to 10 percent among GLP-1 users. For breast cancer, the corresponding figures were 10 percent compared to 20 percent. Researchers also saw statistically significant reductions for colorectal and liver cancer.

Dr. Mark Orland, a resident at the Cleveland Clinic, will present the study at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's annual meeting later this month. He noted that it is important to quickly understand the drugs' possible anti-tumor effects, since millions of Americans use them.

Longer survival for breast cancer patients

An analysis from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center of more than 137,000 breast cancer patients showed that more than 95 percent of GLP-1 users were alive after five years, compared to 89.5 percent of those who did not use the drugs.

A study from the University of Pennsylvania included nearly 95,000 women who underwent breast imaging. Those who had taken a GLP-1 drug had about 25 percent lower risk of receiving a breast cancer diagnosis. The result remained after the researchers accounted for age, weight, and other risk factors.

Dr. Jasmine Sukumar, a breast oncologist at UT MD Anderson, said that the researchers are seeing a signal across several different databases, which is interesting given that the studies have somewhat different designs.

Two possible explanations

Researchers do not yet know why the drugs may have this effect. One theory is that GLP-1 reduces cancer risk indirectly, through weight loss and improved metabolism — two factors that are each independently linked to lower cancer risk. Another theory is more direct: receptors for the GLP-1 hormone, which the drugs mimic, appear on the surface of some tumor cells. This opens the possibility that the drugs act on cancer biology itself.

GLP-1 drugs are already approved for lowering blood sugar, producing weight loss, and reducing the risk of heart attacks and strokes. They are also being tested for sleep apnea and addictive behaviors.

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