JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – New research reveals that GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic may reduce the risk of cancer.
The findings were recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Researchers found evidence that the use of semaglutide medications, such as Ozempic, helps reduce the risk of obesity-associated cancers in people with Type 2 diabetes.
Dr. Husain Abbas, a bariatric surgeon at HCA Healthcare, talked about semaglutide – the key ingredient in popular weight-loss drugs like Ozempic.
“We still don’t know how they work. That’s the interesting part,” Abbas said. “What I’ve seen is I’ve seen a lot of maybe sensationalist articles or research studies coming out, you know, some vilify the medication and some kind of like, tell you, this is almost like the next nirvana. I think it’s neither, I think that the area is in the middle, especially for somebody like me who deals with this almost every day.”
As a bariatric surgeon who specializes in weight loss, News4JAX asked him for his take on a new study by JAMA suggesting that drugs like Ozempic can lower cancer risks by up to 65%.
“There are a few caveats. So, somebody who has a specialty in this, who looks at this paper, they’ve found no difference between the GLP-1s, and metformin, which is a fraction of the price of the GLP-1. So, this paper actually raises more questions,” Abbas said.
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Researchers studied 13 cancers linked to obesity using the electronic medical data of more than 1.6 million patients. They found a reduced risk in 10 types of cancers for people with type 2 diabetes using GLP-1 drugs, including gallbladder, ovarian and colorectal cancer.
Semaglutide was not linked to a significantly reduced risk of developing thyroid, stomach, or breast cancer.
Abbas said this research highlights the health risks of obesity.
“There is no doubt. I mean, paper after paper after papers come out and basically say, obesity, if you think of the human body, or you think of like the disease conditions, like leaves on a tree, obesity is a trunk. Obesity almost feeds every single one of these feeds, we do know gastrointestinal diseases, we know that it’s associated with some colorectal diseases, malignancy, specifically, diabetes, gallbladder, sleep apnea, osteoarthritis,” Abbas said.
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People like Stephanie Parris, who’s lost 35 pounds using Ozempic, said the newly found health benefits are not surprising.
“I am on an increased risk for things like colorectal cancer and that kind of stuff. So, seeing the article that you sent me, you know, just kind of affirmed that I made the right decision doing that for a little over a year,” Parris said. “Everybody can knock on it all they want. But really, it helps you in so many different ways, not only in your lifestyle, but also those health factors, you know, so, it’s huge.”
Dr. Abbas recommends patients taking Ozempic or compounded semaglutide consult with a doctor first. There is a risk painful side effects associated with the drugs and in some cases, stomach paralysis.