8/2/24
Emily Harris
JAMA. Published online August 2, 2024. doi:10.1001/jama.2024.13774
People with type 2 diabetes who used glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) had a lower risk of 10 types of so-called obesity-associated cancers than those who used insulin, according to findings from a retrospective cohort involving more than 1.65 million US participants. Obesity-associated cancers are those that are linked to excess body fat, which raises the risk of developing these cancers and having a worse prognosis.
Participants, none of whom had been diagnosed with cancer at baseline, were followed up for 15 years. Compared with using insulin, taking GLP-1 RAs was tied to significant reductions in the risk of developing gallbladder, pancreatic, liver, ovarian, colorectal, esophageal, endometrial, and kidney cancers and meningioma and multiple myeloma, the researchers reported in JAMA Network Open.
There was no significant reduction in cancer risk among participants who used GLP-1 RAs compared with those who used metformin, another medication used to treat type 2 diabetes. Instead, GLP-1 RAs were associated with an increased risk of kidney cancer compared with metformin.
Article Information
Published Online: August 2, 2024. doi:10.1001/jama.2024.13774