"Weight-loss miracle drug" has new benefits, research shows: GLP-1 drugs may help reduce cancer risk

On Friday, July 5th, Eastern Time, a study published in "JAMA Network Open" indicated that certain diabetes and weight loss medications may help reduce the risk of cancer.

Previously, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States stated that obesity increases the risk of 13 specific types of cancer, which account for 40% of all cancer diagnoses in the United States. The research results show that type 2 diabetes patients using GLP-1 drugs have a lower risk of obesity-related cancers compared to patients using traditional insulin therapy.

For example, patients using GLP-1 drugs have a nearly 50% lower risk of colon cancer than patients receiving only insulin therapy. 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 terms of cancer prevention, which is a known old drug with cancer risk reduction effects.

Arif Kamal, Chief Patient Officer of the American Cancer Society, emphasized the association between obesity and cancer risk, likening obesity to the "tobacco of contemporary cancer risks." He acknowledged the preliminary research results of GLP-1 drugs as "quite convincing."

As this study involves Novo Nordisk's diabetes treatment drug Ozempic and Lilly's Zepbound, overnight on Friday, Novo Nordisk's stock price rose by 2.52% and Lilly's rose by 1.83%.

This study was conducted by Lindsey Wang, a second-year student in the BS-MD program at Case Western Reserve University, who completed data analysis covering over 1.6 million electronic health records of type 2 diabetes patients over a 15-year period until November 2018. It is worth noting that since Ozempic was introduced to the U.S. market in 2017, most patients in the study used first-generation GLP-1 drugs such as Novo Nordisk's Victoza.

Although 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 whether 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 surging. Goldman Sachs analysts predict that the obesity treatment market alone could reach $130 billion in the next decade