On Friday, July 5th, Eastern Time, a study published in “JAMA Network Open” pointed out that some diabetes and weight loss medications may help reduce the risk of cancer.
Prior to this, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States stated that obesity increases the risk of 13 specific types of cancers, which account for 40% of all cancer diagnoses in the United States. The research results indicate that type 2 diabetes patients using GLP-1 drugs have a lower risk of obesity-related cancers compared to patients treated with traditional insulin.
For instance, patients using GLP-1 drugs have a risk of colon cancer nearly 50% lower than those receiving insulin treatment alone. In addition, GLP-1 drugs can also reduce the risk of other digestive system tumors, including esophageal cancer, gallbladder cancer, and pancreatic cancer. However, these new drugs have not surpassed metformin in cancer prevention effects, as metformin is an older drug known to reduce cancer risk.
Arif Kamal, Chief Patient Officer of the American Cancer Society, emphasized the link between obesity and cancer risk, likening obesity to the “tobacco of contemporary cancer risk,” and acknowledged the preliminary research results of GLP-1 drugs, considering them “quite convincing.”
As this study involves the diabetes treatment drugs Ozempic from Novo Nordisk and Zepbound from Eli Lilly, overnight on Friday, Novo Nordisk’s stock price rose by 2.52% and Eli Lilly’s rose by 1.83%.
This study, completed by Lindsey Wang, a second-year student in the BS-MD program at Case Western Reserve University, involved data analysis of over 1.6 million type 2 diabetes patients’ electronic health records spanning 15 years, until November 2018. It is worth noting that since Ozempic was introduced to the U.S. market in 2017, most patients in the study were using first-generation GLP-1 drugs like Novo Nordisk’s Victoza.
While this finding provides preliminary evidence of the cancer prevention potential of diabetes and weight loss drugs, scientists point out that more research is needed to verify if these drugs can truly prevent certain types of cancer. This includes conducting randomized controlled trials, randomly assigning patients to use GLP-1 drugs or other treatment methods.
Furthermore, with the introduction of more potent versions of GLP-1 drugs, market demand is soaring. Goldman Sachs analysts predict that the obesity treatment market alone could reach $130 billion in the next decade.
