Weight-loss jabs cut cancer risk and boost survival

Key Points:

• Studies presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting suggest weight-loss drugs called GLP-1 receptor agonists may reduce the risk of developing breast cancer by about one-third and lower the chance of cancer progressing to terminal stages by up to 50%.
• Research involving over 110,000 overweight women found those prescribed GLP-1 medications were 30.5 to 35 percent less likely to develop breast cancer, though experts note the need for further clinical trials to confirm these findings.
• Another study on over 12,000 patients with obesity-related cancers showed that GLP-1 drugs significantly reduced progression to incurable stage 4 cancer in lung, breast, bowel, and liver cancers, indicating potential protective effects.
• Additional research linked GLP-1 use to substantially fewer cases of pancreatic cancer, leukemia, and lung cancer among high-risk patients, though experts emphasize the necessity of prospective studies to establish definitive benefits.
• Separately, a new immunotherapy drug, durvalumab, combined with chemotherapy and radiotherapy, helped nearly 90% of aggressive bladder cancer patients avoid bladder removal surgery, offering a less invasive treatment option.