Retrospective study of glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists and risk of obesity associated cancers in patients with type 2 diabetes

Thirteen human malignancies have been identified as obesity-associated cancers (OACs), ie, the presence of obesity is associated with increased risk of developing OACs and with worse prognosis of OAC patients. The glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist (GLP-1RA) class of pharmaceuticals are effective agents for the treatment of type 2 diabetes (T2D) and for achieving weight loss. A cohort study of more than 1.6 million T2D patients who had no prior diagnosis of an OAC found that patients receiving GLP-1RAs versus insulin had a significant risk reduction in 10 of 13 OACs. Compared with metformin, GLP-1RAs were not associated with a decreased risk of any cancers, but were associated with a 50% increased risk of kidney cancer. The authors conclude that these results suggest that GLP-1RAs may reduce risk of specific OACs compared with insulins.