In addition to treating diabetes and obesity,GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy also appear to help with a range of other serious illnesses from heart disease to addiction.
A new study suggests these medications may offer some protective benefits for people with colon cancer, particularly those with obesity.
In a new study, people with colon cancer who took GLP-1s were slightly less than half as likely as people with colon cancer who didn’t take the medications to die within five years.
“The main message is that improving metabolic health may do more than lower blood sugar or help with weight loss – it might also help people with colon cancer live longer, especially when obesity is severe,” says Raphael E.Cuomo, MPH, phd, the author of the study and a professor of medicine at the University of California in San Diego.
Colon Cancer Patients Who Took GLP-1s Experienced Lower Death Rates
The study analyzed health data from more than 6,900 patients within University of California health systems who had been diagnosed with colon cancer. Of the participants, 50.9 percent were male, and the average age was 70.8 years. The mean body mass index (BMI) of the group taking GLP-1s was 26.4 (which is considered to be in the overweight range),while the mean BMI of the group that didn’t take the drugs was 32.1 (which is classified as obese).
The findings showed that 15.5 percent of participants on the GLP-1 medications died within five years, compared with 37.1 percent of participants who were not taking the medications. In addition,the survival benefits appeared to be more significant in people who were obese,or had a BMI of over 35 – which,as Dr. Cuomo notes, wasn’t necessarily surprising given that the drugs target colon cancer risk factors such as insulin resistance and chronic inflammation.
“The findings suggest that GLP-1 use, particularly among patients with very high BMI, may be associated with meaningfully better survival, which strengthens the case that these drugs could influence not only whether cancer occurs, but how patients fare after they have it,” he says.