Scholars: Weight loss drug reduces risk of colorectal cancer
CLEVELAND — Research- ers at Case Western Reserve University have published evi- dence that suggests the pop- ular weight loss and diabetes drugs Wegovy and Ozempic may also reduce a person’s risk for colorectal cancer.
The study, published in December in the medical journal JAMA Oncology, found that patients taking the class of medications known as GLP-1 receptor agonists for diabetes had a lower inci- dence of colorectal cancer than those patients who had been prescribed other drugs for the same condition.
GLP-1 receptor agonists are a class of drugs which include semaglutide, mar- keted under the brand name Ozempic for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and Wegovy for weight loss.
The population-based study was conducted using a national database of more than 100 million electronic health records.
Researchers matched as many people as possible with the same characteristics — sex, race, age, socio-eco- nomic determinants of health and other medical condi- tions — and compared the number of cases of colorec- tal cancer in patients who had been treated with vari- ous anti-diabetic drugs span- ning a period of 14 years from 2005 to 2019.
They found a 44% reduc- tion in incidence of colorec- tal cancer in patients treated with a GLP-1 RA as com- pared to the same number of matched patients treated with insulin, and a 25% reduction in incidence of colorectal cancer in patients treated with a GLP-1 RA as compared to the same number of matched patients treated with Metformin.
“Our results clearly demonstrate that GLP-1 RAs are significantly more effective than popular anti-diabetic drugs, such as Metformin or insulin, at preventing the development of colorectal cancer,” said Nathan Berger, the Hanna-Payne Professor of Experimental Medicine at the Case Western Reserve School of Medicine and the study’s co-lead researcher.
What’s more, the protective effect of GLP-1 RAs are noted in patients of all body types. “The research is critically important for reducing incidence of colorectal cancer in patients with diabetes, with or without overweight and obesity,” Berger added.
The findings support the need for more extensive clinical trials to determine whether these medications could prevent one of the deadliest types of cancers. Eventually, the medications may also show promise in warding off other types of cancer associated with obesity and diabetes, the researchers said.
“To our knowledge,” said co-lead researcher Rong Xu, a professor at the School of Medicine, “this is the first indication this popular weight-loss and anti-diabetic class of drugs reduces incidence of colorectal cancer, relative to other anti-diabetic agents.”