GLP-1 Drugs Like Ozempic and Saxenda May Dramatically Reduce Cancer Risk — Even More Than Weight Loss Surgery, Israeli Study Finds

By: Carl Schwartzbaum

In a major leap forward for both obesity treatment and cancer prevention, new research out of Israel reveals that GLP-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1RA) drugs — such as Saxenda, Trulicity, and Byetta — may slash the risk of obesity-related cancers more effectively than bariatric surgery. As reported by The New York Post, the findings offer compelling new evidence that these medications provide wide-ranging benefits that extend far beyond weight loss and diabetes control.

Published in the prestigious medical journal The Lancet’s eClinicalMedicine, the study evaluated the health outcomes of thousands of individuals with obesity and type 2 diabetes who were taking GLP-1 drugs. Notably, it found that those who used GLP-1RAs were 41% less likely to develop obesity-related cancers than those who underwent weight-loss surgery — a statistic that could reshape both medical practice and public health policy.

“This work could herald a whole new era of preventive cancer medicine,” said Professor Mark Lawler, a cancer research expert at Queen’s University Belfast, in remarks cited by The Guardian. While not involved in the study, Lawler emphasized the groundbreaking nature of the results.

GLP-1 drugs, which include liraglutide (Saxenda), dulaglutide (Trulicity), and exenatide (Byetta) — but not semaglutide (Ozempic) or tirzepatide (Zepbound), which were not included in this study — are already widely used to manage type 2 diabetes and support weight loss. However, the new Israeli study reveals that their cancer-fighting properties stem from more than just helping patients shed pounds.

According to the information provided in The New York Post report, co-lead author Dr. Yael Wolff Sagy of Clalit Health Services in Tel Aviv noted that while weight loss certainly helps lower cancer risk, GLP-1 drugs appear to exert additional protective effects. “We do not yet fully understand how GLP-1s work,” she said. “But this study adds to the growing evidence showing that weight loss alone cannot completely account for the metabolic, anti-cancer, and many other benefits that these medications provide.”

Co-author Dr. Dror Dicker of Hasharon Hospital at Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva suggested one possible explanation: inflammation. “The protective effects of GLP-1RAs against obesity-related cancers likely arise from multiple mechanisms, including reducing inflammation,” he explained.

Obesity is a well-established risk factor for at least 13 types of cancer, including those affecting the breast, pancreas, colon, liver, kidney, uterus, and prostate. According to earlier data, bariatric surgery reduces obesity-related cancer risk by about one-third. But this new research suggests that GLP-1 drugs might offer a nearly 50% reduction — a potential game-changer in cancer prevention strategies.

The study, backed by a robust dataset of patients treated in Israel’s national health system, may reshape how clinicians approach the growing global epidemic of obesity-linked malignancies.

“These drugs promote substantial weight loss, reducing obesity-related cancer risks,” said Lindsey Wang, a research scholar and medical student at Case Western Reserve University, in a separate study cited by The New York Post. “They also enhance insulin sensitivity and lower insulin levels, decreasing cancer cell growth signals.”

In recent years, GLP-1 drugs have been hailed for a growing list of health benefits beyond their original scope. As The New York Post has reported, studies have linked these medications not only to reduced risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease but also to lower rates of dementia, reduced addictive behaviors, and now — significantly — a lower risk of multiple cancers.

Although semaglutide (marketed as Ozempic and Wegovy) and tirzepatide (Zepbound) were not included in this particular study, prior research suggests that they may offer similar benefits. A 2023 analysis found that GLP-1 drugs in general reduced the risk of 10 of the 13 obesity-associated cancers.

Still, scientists caution that more work is needed to understand precisely how these medications confer such sweeping health protections. Researchers are calling for further investigation into the underlying mechanisms — including anti-inflammatory pathways, hormonal regulation, and insulin sensitivity — that could account for the anti-cancer effects.

With global obesity rates continuing to rise, the study’s implications could be enormous. Preventing even a fraction of obesity-related cancers through pharmacological intervention would not only reduce mortality but also ease the massive financial burden that cancer care places on healthcare systems worldwide.

As the report in The New York Post highlighted, the latest findings place GLP-1 drugs at the forefront of a revolution in preventive medicine — one that could see doctors prescribing these treatments not just to manage chronic illness, but to proactively reduce cancer risk in at-risk populations.

If confirmed by future studies, this shift in understanding may represent one of the most significant public health breakthroughs of the decade.