Three studies presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s annual meeting in Chicago suggest that GLP-1 weight-loss drugs can reduce the risk of developing or dying from breast cancer by up to 30%. The findings add to growing evidence that these medications could play a role in cancer prevention and treatment.
One retrospective analysis of 110,000 women aged 45 to 80 found that those taking GLP-1 medications were 30% less likely to develop breast cancer compared with those not taking the drugs. Dr Elizabeth McDonald, a professor of radiology at the University of Pennsylvania, said the study was observational but added to evidence that these drugs merit investigation as cancer prevention tools.
A second study involving 27,000 breast cancer patients found that adding weight-loss drugs to standard treatment reduced the risk of death by 30%. A third study of 12,000 patients with breast, lung, bowel or liver cancer found that those on GLP-1 drugs were 38% to 50% less likely to develop stage-four disease.
Experts not involved in the research noted that GLP-1 drugs have anti-inflammatory and immune-modulatory properties that may contribute to their effects. However, Dr Eleonora Teplinsky cautioned that more research is needed to determine whether the benefits are due to weight loss or other factors.
