WASHINGTON: A class of diabetes medications, which include the best-selling drug Ozempic, are linked with a reduced risk of certain cancers, according to a study Published in the journal JAMA.
The study compared patients with Type 2 diabetes who were treated with insulin versus patients who were given a class of drug known as GLP-1 agonists, like Ozempic, between 2005 and 2018.
The scientists found that the patients who received GLP-1 agonists had a lower risk of developing 10 out of 13 cancers studied, including pancreatic, kidney, ovarian, liver, esophageal, and colorectal cancer.
Among the cancers which saw no change in risk were breast cancer and thyroid cancer in postmenopausal women. study author Rong Xu told AFP that obesity is well known to be linked with at least 13 cancer types. According to the author, the study provides evidence that GLP-1RAs hold promise in breaking the link between cancer and obesity.
Among the drugs studied were Ozempic as it was approved in the US in 2017. GLP-1 agonists have been around for about twenty years, but a new generation of these drugs, among them Ozempic, has been popularized for their more weight loss effects.
Xu recommended that the protective benefits showed in the study may encourage doctors to prescribe GLP-1 treatments for diabetes patients rather than of other medicines like insulin.
