(NewsNation) — New data released shows widely used GLP-1 diabetes drugs like Ozempic could reduce the risk of obesity-related cancers like colorectal cancer.
The study looked at 170,030 adults with obesity and diabetes from 43 health systems in the United States, and found that between the groups treated with DPP-4 drugs and GLP-1s, there were 16% fewer colon cancer cases and 28% fewer rectal cancer cases in the group prescribed GLP-1s.
The data showed GLP-1 drugs were much more effective than other types of drugs used to treat diabetes, known as dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors, which don’t have the same weight loss effect as GLP-1s.
“Patients who took GLP-1 receptor agonists had a 7% lower risk of developing an obesity-related cancer and an 8% lower risk of death from any cause compared to those who took a DPP-4 inhibitor,” the authors of the study said.
The authors of the study say they hope to continue their research for a longer period of time and include people who do not have diabetes.