Obesity Medications: A Surprising Role in Cancer Prevention

SadaNews - A recent American study indicated that drugs known as (GLP-1), which are used to treat type 2 diabetes and aid in weight loss, may play a role in reducing the risks of certain types of cancers associated with obesity, with a slight possibility of increasing the risk of other types.

The study, published in the journal "JAMA Oncology", involved reviewing medical records over a decade for more than 86,000 people, nearly half of whom took medications from this class, such as Ozempic and Wegovy from Novo Nordisk, and Mounjaro and Zepbound from Eli Lilly.

Reduced Risk of Endometrial Cancer

The results showed that among every thousand people annually, 13.6 cases of cancer were diagnosed among users of (GLP-1) drugs, compared to 16.6 cases among non-users, indicating a relative overall risk reduction of 17%.

These medications were also associated with a 25% reduced risk of endometrial cancer, a 47% reduced risk of ovarian cancer, and a 31% reduced risk of meningiomas.

Slight Increase in Kidney Cancer

Conversely, the study indicated a slight increase in the likelihood of kidney cancer, but it was not statistically significant.

Researchers emphasize that the study cannot prove a direct causal relationship, as part of the effect may result from weight loss itself rather than the medication alone.

However, they point out that any small change in cancer rates would have a significant impact on public health, considering that over 137 million people in the United States may currently be using these medications.