Already popular, these drugs could also significantly reduce the risk of cancer
The number of cancer cases has doubled in 20 years in France. More than 430,000 cases were diagnosed in 2022. They represent the leading cause of death among men and the second among women. While treatments have evolved significantly over the years, prevention remains a major challenge. 40% of cancers are considered preventable.
Several studies have recently suggested that a certain existing treatment can significantly reduce the risk of cancer. These are GLP-1 agonists, a class of drugs originally intended for diabetics and later also indicated for the treatment of obesity. Thanks to their impressive ability to induce weight loss, these drugs, such as Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro, have become very popular.
A study presented at the European Congress on Obesity in May 2025 suggested that people taking these drugs have a significantly lower risk of cancer. Israeli researchers studied over 6,000 patients for several years, some of whom were taking first-generation weight-loss drugs—such as liraglutide, available in France—and others who had undergone bariatric surgery. This surgery allows obese patients to lose significant weight, thereby reducing their cancer risk by 30 to 45 percent.
Israeli researchers have indeed observed that the risk of cancer was as reduced in patients who underwent surgery as in those treated with weight-loss drugs, which, however, cause less weight loss. For equivalent weight loss, GLP-1 agonists are thus "41% more effective in preventing obesity-related cancers," explained the study's lead author, Dr. Yael Wolff Sagy. Obesity is in fact associated with more than a dozen cancers, including colorectal cancer, breast cancer, and pancreatic cancer.
According to Dr. Sagy, "This study adds to the growing body of evidence showing that weight loss alone cannot explain the metabolic, anticancer, and other benefits of these drugs." The results of this study are especially important because newer weight-loss drugs are even more effective at promoting weight loss, and thus may be even more effective at preventing cancer.
Several other studies have also concluded that these widely used drugs can reduce this risk. A study published in 2024 and conducted on 1.6 million diabetic patients revealed that those treated with GLP-1 had a lower risk of suffering from 10 obesity-related cancers compared to those treated with insulin. While further studies are needed to confirm these benefits, anti-obesity drugs could thus represent a revolutionary means of cancer prevention.
L'Internaute
