Obesity Drugs: A Surprising Role in Cancer Prevention

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

The study, published in the journal "JAMA Oncology," involved a review of medical records over a decade for more than 86,000 individuals, 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) medications, compared to 16.6 cases among non-users, indicating a relative reduction in overall risk by 17%.

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

Slight Increase in Kidney Cancer

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

Researchers emphasize that the study cannot prove a direct causal relationship, as part of the effect may be due to 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, given that over 137 million people in the United States may currently be using these medications.