NEW STUDY: Weight Loss Injections Could Reduce Obesity-Associated Cancers

Unhealthy weight is the smoking of our generation.

Oncologist and American Cancer Society’s Chief Patient Officer, Dr. Arif Kamal on a new study that indicates drugs now used for weight-loss may also lead to lower rates of some cancers.

Why It Matters: A recently published study found weight loss injections like Wegovy and Ozempic could help reduce the risk of developing certain obesity-related cancers. Researchers recently analyzed the “deidentified” electronic health records of over 1 million people with Type 2 Diabetes, comparing patients who received weight loss injections vs. insulin vs. the diabetes medication metformin and studying over 15 years of medical records for a cancer diagnosis. The findings? When compared to insulin, weight loss injections reduced people’s risk of developing several (but not all) obesity-associated cancers. But when compared to specifically diabetes medication metformin, the data shows weight loss injections did not reduce cancer risk and may increase people’s risk of kidney cancer. Because of the study’s limitations, “no causal inferences can be drawn” at this time and more research must occur to better understand the dynamic relationship between obesity and cancer.

More Context: According to the study, obesity-associated cancers include:
-esophageal
-breast
-colorectal
-endometrial
-gallbladder
-stomach
-kidney
-ovarian
-pancreatic
-thyroid cancer
-hepatocellular carcinoma
-meningioma
-multiple myeloma

Read More: Glucagon-Like Peptide 1 Receptor Agonists and 13 Obesity-Associated Cancers in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes (JAMA Network)

Weight-loss drugs like Wegovy may help stave off some cancers (NPR News)