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Weight-loss injections may do more than trim waists; they may also slice cancer risk associated with obesity by a significant percentage, says the new study. Experts describe this research as potentially revolutionizing preventive medicine.
A powerful link between weight loss and cancer prevention
Obesity is known to raise the risk of at least 13 cancers, including breast, bowel, pancreatic, and ovarian. Reducing weight lowers this risk further, but Israeli researchers have now found that weight-loss shots could give even greater protection, potentially cutting the risk in half.
The large-scale study, presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Malaga and in The Lancet's eClinicalMedicine, followed 6,000 adults who were cancer-free but either had bariatric surgery or took GLP-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs). These include drugs like liraglutide (Saxenda), exenatide (Byetta), and dulaglutide (Trulicity) that copy an intestinal hormone to lower blood sugar and suppress hunger.
Injections vs. Surgery: A Surprising Result
Although those subjected to bariatric surgery lost about twice the weight that the GLP-1 drug patients lost, both had the same degree of risk reduction for cancer, about 30-42%. When adjusted for weight loss, the medications were more protective against cancer than pounds lost alone.
Leading researcher Professor Dror Dicker from Hasharon Hospital, Rabin Medical Center, Petah Tikva, Israel, explained that the benefits would likely stretch far wider than losing weight. “The protective effects of GLP-1RAs against obesity-related cancers likely arise from multiple mechanisms, including reducing inflammation,” he said.
New-Generation Drugs Show Even More Promise
The recent study also predicted future possibilities. More contemporary drugs, such as Tirzepatide (Mounjaro ), have greater potential for weight loss than classic drugs such as semaglutide (Wegovy). In a different study, patients on Mounjaro lost about 20.2% of their body weight versus 13.7% of their body weight for those taking Vegovi.
The findings were labelled as "very exciting" by Queen's University Belfast cancer expert Professor Mark Lawler, and he also claimed that GLP-1 medicines could be used as a frontline treatment to fight against different cancers.
This could open up the possibility of treating difficult-to-treat cancers, not just easy ones. We already know bariatric surgery cuts obesity-related cancer risk by about a third; these data suggest target GLP-1s may cut that risk by nearly 50% – an approach that would be transformational in preventing obesity-related cancer.
Professor Mark Lawler, Professor at Queen's University
“Biologically, this makes sense, as targeting GLP-1 dampens down inflammation, one of the hallmarks of cancer.While further work is required on how it works, these data raise the intriguing possibility that a GLP-1 jab could prevent multiple cancers in the general population, including common cancers like breast and colorectal, and difficult to treat cancers like pancreatic and ovarian. This work could herald a whole new era of preventive cancer medicine,” he added
Could the medicines also extend survival?
Experts now want trials to determine if these drugs can also prolong survival in those already diagnosed with cancer. Professor Jason Halford at Leeds University said it was not all about prevention.
"Managing weight after diagnosis can also make a difference. The potential to be a new dawn. And it’s not just prevention, weight management in people recently diagnosed with cancer is also critical in terms of outcomes. That would be the next thing to look at. More and more cancers are being associated with obesity,” he added.
International experts urge action
At the same conference, 54 experts from 12 countries issued a joint statement calling for the urgent trials of GLP-1 drugs to prevent cancer. As a response, a UK team of researchers supported by Cancer Research UK is preparing a major trial involving tens of thousands of volunteers, to be launched within three to five years.
Manchester Cancer Research Centre's Dr. Matthew Harris said the findings were a game-changer.
They provide genuinely fantastic weight loss, and may provide an intervention that could be delivered on a population-scale, where we have not been able to achieve this before
Dr. Matthew Harris, Researcher at Manchester Cancer Research Centre
References:
Bawden, Anna. "Weight-Loss Jabs Could Halve Risk of Obesity-Related Cancers, Study Finds." The Guardian, May 11, 2025. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/may/11/weight-loss-jabs-could-halve-risk-of-obesity-related-cancers-study-finds.
Dicker, Dror, et al. "Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists and Bariatric Surgery for Obesity-Related Cancer Prevention: A Retrospective Cohort Study." eClinicalMedicine 72 (2025): 102145. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(25)00145-2/fulltext.
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