A study led by the Indiana University School of Medicine and the University of Florida has found a correlation between using GLP-1 receptor agonists and a lower overall cancer risk in adults with obesity or overweight, including reduced ovarian cancer risk and a potential increased risk for kidney cancer.
Obesity is linked to at least 13 types of cancer, comprising about 40% of all annual cancer diagnoses in the US. Discovering effective interventions to reduce cancer risk among individuals with obesity is vital for public health.
Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) are commonly prescribed for managing blood sugar levels in type 2 diabetes and have risen in popularity for weight loss; however, their long-term impact on cancer risk remains uncertain.
The study "GLP-1 Receptor Agonists and Cancer Risk in Adults With Obesity," published in JAMA Oncology, utilized a target trial emulation design with 2014 to 2024 electronic health record data to compare cancer incidence among adults prescribed GLP-1RAs versus nonusers.
JAMA OncologyThe study included 86,632 matched adults (52.4 mean age; 68.2% female), comprising 43,317 GLP-1RA users and 43,315 eligible nonusers. Of these participants, 50.7% had type 2 diabetes, and 48.3% had obesity (BMI ≥30). Data was sourced from OneFlorida+, a health research network with clinical data across Florida, Georgia, and Alabama.
Two-sided P values were used, considering results statistically insignificant when P = .05 or above, which adds complexity to the interpretation of study outcomes.
Of the 14 cancers analyzed, only ovarian cancer demonstrated a significant positive correlation for GLP-1RA users with a Hazard Ratio (HR) of 0.53 (95% CI 0.29–0.96; P = .04). While statistically significant, this result involved a small number of cases (49 out of 59,120 women).
When considering all cancers together, the incidence rates were 13.6 per 1,000 person-years for GLP-1RA users and 16.4 per 1,000 person-years for nonusers, revealing an overall lower cancer risk among GLP-1RA users HR 0.83 (95% CI 0.76–0.91; P = .002).
GLP-1RAs were also linked to a heightened kidney cancer risk HR 1.38 (95% CI 0.99–1.93; P = .04). The paper describes the kidney cancer risk as both nonsignificant and marginally nonsignificant without resolving this discrepancy, causing confusion as the confidence interval crosses 1 while the P value sits at .04. The unrounded lower limit of the 95% confidence interval should be above 1, suggesting more than a simple rounding error.
The authors concluded that GLP-1RAs correlated with a reduced overall cancer and ovarian cancer risk but also proposed reductions for endometrial and meningioma cancers without meeting the P value threshold below 0.5. The conclusion also hints at an increased risk of kidney cancer.
A general disclaimer should accompany studies on GLP-1 receptor agonists due to their high pharmaceutical sales status, which may introduce funding biases or publishing pressures when presenting benefits and off-label uses of these drugs.
This article was written by Justin Jackson, edited by Sadie Harley, fact-checked, and reviewed by Robert Egan. We depend on reader support to sustain independent science journalism. If you value this reporting, please consider a donation (especially monthly) for an ad-free account.
ad-free