Colon cancer patients may live longer if they take these GLP-1 drugNew research suggests it’s similar to Ozempic and Wegovy.
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego studied more than 6,800 patients taking one of these popular knock-offs. diabetes and weight loss medicine.
They found that patients were much less likely to die within five years than those who did not take the drug.
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According to a press release, the five-year mortality rate for GLP-1 users was only about 15%, compared with 37% for non-users.
The survival benefit was seen even after factors such as age were taken into account. cancer severity Researchers found other medical problems.
“The central message is that GLP-1 therapeutics were associated with a significant reduction in five-year mortality in patients with colon cancer, and this signal was most pronounced in patients with colon cancer.” severe obesitya BMI of 35 or higher,” Dr. Rafael Cuomo, associate professor of anesthesiology at the UC San Diego School of Medicine, member of the UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center, and lead author of the study, told FOX News Digital.
“Taken together, the findings are consistent with the following ideas. improve metabolic health And reducing obesity-related inflammation may not only improve glycemic control but also improve cancer outcomes. ”
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The researchers said the findings, published Nov. 11 in the journal Cancer Investigation, were surprising.
“GLP-1 therapy directly targets the metabolic and inflammatory environments that exacerbate obesity, so we expected it to have some benefit in severely obese patients.” Colon cancer outcomes“However, the absolute difference in five-year mortality rates was greater than many clinicians expected,” Cuomo said.
One potential reason for this effect is that GLP-1 is known to reduce inflammation, lower insulin levels, and promote weight loss, which may slow cancer growth, the release states.
Some scientists suspect that these drugs may act directly on tumor cells, but that has not yet been proven.
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Dr. Sue Decotis, a New York City weight loss physician, agreed that GLP-1 is known to “significantly reduce” systemic inflammation by reducing cytokines, inflammatory factors produced by fat cells. This will lead to various preventive measures. health problems all over the body.
“It may be a direct effect of GLP-1 drugs in reducing inflammation in specific areas, so it’s not surprising that they improve cancer survival,” Decotis, who was not involved in the study, told FOX News Digital.
The study had several limitations, primarily that it could not prove that GLP-1 was responsible for increased survival, only establishing an association.
“This is an observational analysis, so even with extensive adjustment, residual confounding is always possible,” Cuomo told Fox News Digital.
He noted that the number of patients actually receiving GLP-1 drugs is modest compared to the group as a whole, and researchers do not have “completely complete information” about each individual’s exact “dose, duration, or compliance.”
“Because our data come from a single, integrated academic health system, generalizability needs to be tested in other settings,” Cuomo added.
Further research Also, randomized studies are needed to see if GLP-1 drugs really improve cancer survival.
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“Patients should not interpret these study results as evidence that GLP-1 therapeutics are cancer-fighting agents,” Cuomo said. “Right now, the right way to approach this research is with colon cancer patients; have obesity Diabetic patients are offered guideline-directed metabolic therapy, including GLP-1 agents when clinically indicated, as part of their comprehensive care. ”
The researchers stressed that this is “a sign of hope rather than a final answer.”
“This suggests that cancer outcomes may be improved by treating the whole body, not just the tumor, and that modern metabolic therapies may have unexpected benefits for patients with malignancies,” he said.
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The results also highlight the importance of preserving the environment. healthy weightOptimize metabolic health and adhere to established cancer treatment and follow-up, the researchers said.
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Decotis agreed that it is premature to use these drugs for: auxiliary treatment For cancer, more data is needed.
“But looking at the results with GLP-1 makes treatment and prevention in obese and overweight patients even more appealing,” she says. “There is definitely a long-term future for these drugs in the treatment of many diseases.”
