• Posted May 28, 2025

Weight-Loss Drugs May Lower Risk Of Obesity-Related Cancers

WEDNESDAY, May 28, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Popular GLP-1 weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Zepbound can help reduce a woman’s risk for as many as 14 cancers associated with obesity, a new study says.

People taking a GLP-1 drug had a 7% lower risk of developing an obesity-related cancer and an 8% lower risk of death from any cause, compared to others taking a type of diabetes drug called DPP-4 inhibitors, researchers found.

Women in particular benefit from the weight-loss drugs, researchers are scheduled to report at an upcoming meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).

Women taking the drugs had an 8% lower risk of obesity-related cancer, as well as a 20% overall lower risk of death, results show. Men received no statistically significant cancer benefit from GLP-1 meds.

“Although obesity is now recognized as an increasingly important cause of cancer in the United States and worldwide, no medications have been proven to lower the cancer risk associated with obesity,” said lead researcher Lucas Mavromatis, a medical student at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine in New York City.

“Our study begins to fill that gap by evaluating GLP-1 receptor agonists, a relatively new but widely prescribed medication that treats diabetes, obesity, and related conditions,” Mavromatis added in a news release.

Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) drugs mimic the GLP-1 hormone, which helps control insulin and blood sugar levels, decreases appetite and slows digestion of food.

As many as 12% of people in the U.S. have been prescribed a GLP-1 drug to help them manage diabetes or lose weight, researchers said in background notes.

For the study, researchers tracked more than 170,000 people with obesity – a body-mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher – and diabetes treated at 43 U.S. health systems between 2013 and 2023. (BMI is an estimate of body fat based on height and weight.)

About half of the people had started treatment with a GLP-1 drug and the rest with a DPP-4 drug, researchers said.

The study found that GLP-1 drugs modestly reduced risk of cancers of the esophagus, colon, rectum, stomach, liver, gallbladder, pancreas, kidney, post-menopausal breast, ovary, endometrium and thyroid, as well as multiple myeloma and meningiomas.

GLP-1 drugs also had higher protection against colon and rectal cancers, the study found.

Among people taking GLP-1 drugs, there were 16% fewer colon cancer cases and 28% fewer rectal cancer cases, researchers said.

“Our results suggest (GLP-1 drugs) may modestly cut the chance of developing certain cancers — especially cancers of the colon and rectum — and reduce rates of death due to all causes,” Mavromatis said.

However, researchers said more studies are needed to provide a stronger link between GLP-1 drugs and cancer reduction.

"This trial raises an intriguing hypothesis: that the increasingly popular GLP-1 medications used to treat diabetes and obesity might offer some benefit in reducing the risk of developing cancer,” said ASCO President Dr. Robin Zon. who was not involved in the study.

“I see many patients with obesity, and given the clear link between cancer and obesity, defining the clinical role of GLP-1 medications in cancer prevention is important,” she continued.

“Though this trial does not establish causation, it hints that these drugs might have a preventative effect,” Zon concluded. “Future research is needed to validate these findings, including in patients who do not have diabetes.”

The research are scheduled to be presented at ASCO's annual meeting Friday through Tuesday in Chicago. 

Findings presented at medical meetings are considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

More information

The Cleveland Clinic has more on GLP-1 drugs.

SOURCE: American Society of Clinical Oncology, news release, May 22, 2025