Study Links GLP-1 Drugs to Lower Cancer Progression in Four Types

A retrospective study of 12,112 patients with obesity-related cancers found that those who began GLP-1 medications after diagnosis had lower progression to stage 4 disease for four cancer types. The cancers showing statistically significant differences were lung, breast, colorectal, and liver.

The study compared patients who started one of six GLP-1 drugs—semaglutide, tirzepatide, dulaglutide, liraglutide, lixisenatide, or pramlintide—with patients who started DPP-4 inhibitors.

Half the participants began a GLP-1 drug after their cancer diagnosis; the other half began a DPP-4 inhibitor. Researchers reported lower rates of progression for prostate, pancreatic, and kidney cancers among GLP-1 users, but those differences did not reach statistical significance.

Tumors with higher levels of GLP-1 receptors were associated with better survival outcomes. Rates of adverse side effects were similar between the two medication groups.

The study has not been peer-reviewed and was observational rather than randomized. Researchers noted that factors such as weight loss and metabolic changes could have influenced results. Lead author Mark David Orland, MD, of the Taussig Cancer Institute at Cleveland Clinic, said the findings provide early evidence that future studies are worth pursuing.

Additional randomized trials are needed to determine whether GLP-1 drugs directly affect cancer progression.