Ozempic a Cancer-Fighting Drug?

"Our study was observational and does not definitively confirm an association between GLP-1 medications and reduced breast cancer incidence,"

"It does add to the growing body of evidence suggesting that it's worth investigating these weight loss drugs as potential cancer prevention tools."

"GLP-1 medications are intriguing from a cancer research perspective because they weren't designed for cancer therapy, but they do affect many different targets and pathways associated with cancer development, so we're eager to study them in this context,"

"We know obesity is a risk factor, but we don't understand how."

"Ultimately, we want to find better options to prevent breast cancer. It’s been encouraging to see the survival rates for breast cancer improve over recent decades, and we’d love to see the same gains in prevention."

Dr. Elizabeth McDonald, physician, radiology professor, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania

 

"Our study found that use of GLP-1 drugs… was associated with a meaningful reduction in cancer progression across four solid tumor types."

"It provides early evidence that future studies are worth pursuing."

Mark David Orland, oncologist, Taussig Cancer Institute, Cleveland Clinic

 

"GLP-1 receptor agonists have never been just glucose-lowering drugs,"

"Their anti-inflammatory and immune-modulatory properties have long suggested broader effects."

"What's new here is the consistency across tumor types, and data this large and this consistent warrant a prospective randomized trial."

Marcin Chwistek, oncologist, Fox Chase Cancer Center, ASCO Expert in supportive care

One analysis found those who took GLP-1 medications were 30% less likely to develop breast cancer than those not taking weight-loss drugs. Photograph: Munro/Getty Images

Over 40 studies, abstracts, oral presentations and poster presentations examining the relationship between GLP-1-based drugs and cancer were presented at the recently-held annual American Society of Clinical Oncology Chicago meeting. What makes these studies remarkable was the consistency of their findings, suggesting that individuals who take medications like Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro may develop a lower rate of certain cancers than those not using the famously popular weight-loss drugs.

 

In addition to which hopeful signs that for those for whom cancer has already been diagnosed, use of the drugs may lead to a slower decline and improved outcomes. "We're really excited to be on the forefront of looking at the effects of these drugs", stated Mark Orland, cancer researcher at the Cleveland Clinic. The findings are "super promising". 

 

Many of the  13 types of cancer associated with obesity were included in the studies, the most prominent among them, an analysis from the University of Pennsylvania, which studied data from over 100,000 women, and found that lower rates of breast cancer emerged among women taking the drugs. Another study followed over 10,000 patients t o find those taking the medications were significantly less likely to progress to metastatic disease across four solid tumours. 

 

(Curly_photo/Moment/Getty Images)

 

 Findings related to lung cancer, not generally associated with weight, also drew attention for its impact. where taking the medications were seen to have its effect on lung  cancer, where several studies hinted that GLP-1s could enhance treatment effects. The possibility has arisen due to these findings that GLP-1s may be acting independently of weight loss, by reducing inflammation, altering metabolic pathways involved in cancer development, or perhaps slowing tumour growth itself. Doctors feel the evidence is not yet strong enough to recommend prescribing the drugs for that purpose.

 

Observation studies which can identify associations but cannot establish cause and effect cannot prove that GLP-1s prevent cancer. For the present, caution is being promoted for the observational studies leading to findings that cannot link cause and effect with certainty. GLP-1 findings remain hypothetical, eluding a conclusion. despite the growing volume of evidence turning the question toward serious investigation. What is left is the question whether medicine has underestimated how many diseases share a similar underlying biology. GLP-1s force medicine to withdraw boundaries between diseases that once appeared to be separate.

 

The emerging theory is that many conditions such as diabetes, obesity heart disease, kidney disease, addiction, dementia, and cancer may share properties -- more than researchers have understood. As far as Gilberto de Lima Lopes, chief of medical oncology at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami is concerned, the cancer findings fit a broader pattern, where GLP-1s increasingly resemble "a really interesting longevity drug. The potential benefit is real, and it makes biological sense", he contends.  

 

One of the most talked about findings among the researchers was Dr. McDonald's, whose study relied on analyzing existing medical records instead of a randomized clinical trial. Records from about 100,000 women aged 45 to 60 were examined who had undergone breast imaging to find that -- accounting for differences in age, obesity, diabetes and other risk factors, -- GLP-1 users remained roughly 30 percent less likely to develop breast cancer. According to Dr. McDonald, the findings built on the scaffolding of years of studies in lab-grown cells and animals that suggested GLP-1 drugs can slow cancer cell growth, enhance effects of chemotherapy and influence other pathways linked to the development of cancer. 

 

Also presented at the ASCO meeting, Jasmine Sukumar of MD Anderson Cancer Centre, a separate breast cancer study analyzed records from over 137,000 breast cancer patients between the years 2014 and 2023. Women taking GLP-1 drugs  had markedly superior survival rates where close to 96 percent survived five years following surgery. in comparison with about 90 percent of similar patients who were not taking the medications.