GLP-1 medications such as Ozempic and Wegovy may help lower the risk of certain cancers, a new study suggests. People who are overweight or obese have a higher risk of getting 13 types of cancer, and the risk increases the longer a person is overweight and the more excess weight they gain. About 40 per cent of new cancer diagnoses are associated with excess weight, according to the U.
S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2021, there were about 170 new diagnoses for every 100,000 people, CDC data shows.
The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App But a study published Friday in the journal JAMA Network Open found that people with type 2 diabetes who were being treated with a class of GLP-1 drugs were significantly less likely to be diagnosed with 10 of the 13 obesity-associated cancers than those who were taking insulin. The risk was cut by more than half for gallbladder cancer, meningioma, pancreatic cancer and hepatocellular carcinoma, a kind of liver cancer. It was also significantly reduced for ovarian cancer, colorectal cancer, multiple myeloma, esophageal cancer, endometrial cancer and kidney cancer.
Excess weight can cause changes in the body such as long-lasting inflammation and higher than normal levels of insulin, insulin-like growth factor and sex hormones that can cause cancer, according to the CDC. And GLP-1 medications interact with systems related to insulin production. The new findings that link GLP-1 treatment .