Researchers are suggesting that weight-loss injections should be evaluated for their potential to help prevent cancer. This follows a new study linking the medication to a significantly decreased risk of developing tumours associated with carrying excess weight.
Obesity and Cancer Link
Being overweight is linked to an increased likelihood of developing 13 distinct forms of cancer, such as bowel, breast, and pancreatic. Popular medications, including Wegovy, Ozempic, and Mounjaro, are routinely used by doctors to help patients manage type 2 diabetes and obesity. Recent research has focused on whether these specific treatments could offer broader health benefits to those taking them.
Study Details
Experts from America examined medical records from a large group of more than 161,000 people who were living with obesity but did not have diabetes or cancer. In this group, half of the participants received weekly injections, while the other half received traditional support for diet and lifestyle changes. The participants had an average age of 47 and were carefully monitored by the research team over two years.
Key Findings
The results, published in the Annals of Oncology, revealed that people using the injections had a 41% lower risk of being diagnosed with a weight-related cancer. However, the data showed that this positive trend and reduction in risk was not seen among Black people.
"Our study found that over an average follow-up of two years, GLP-1 RA use was associated with a significantly lower incidence of cancers directly fuelled by excess body weight," said the study's senior author, Dr Aparna Kamat, director of the Division of Gynaecologic Oncology at Houston Methodist Hospital in Texas.
"Overall cancer risk was reduced by 41% and we saw even larger reductions in certain subgroups, including men, where the risk dropped by nearly 70%. Among gynaecologic cancers, there was a 58% reduction in the incidence of endometrial cancer, one of the malignancies most closely linked to obesity."
Racial Differences
"The reduction in obesity-related cancer risk among white patients was about 50% but this risk reduction was not observed among black patients. This may reflect additional causes such as access to care, differing risk profiles and other biological differences. We also studied the different GLP-1 RA formulations and found that while all of them reduced the incidence of obesity-related cancers, the greatest reduction was seen among tirzepatide users."
Implications and Cautions
Dr Kamat explained that these encouraging results show the medication could alter how medical professionals approach oncology care. However, she also urged caution about how the drugs are currently dispensed to patients.
"Our findings do not prove causation, and cancer risk reduction should not yet be a standalone reason to prescribe GLP-1 RAs. However, for obese, non-diabetic patients who are already candidates for these medications, our data provide an additional and potentially important reason to have that conversation."
"For policymakers and other researchers, our study is a clear signal that GLP-1 RAs deserve serious investigation as cancer prevention agents, particularly as obesity-related cancers increasingly affect adults in their 40s and 50s."
