A wave of recent research is expanding what clinicians and health system leaders know about GLP-1 medications — from their place in obesity treatment to emerging benefits in oncology and gastrointestinal care.
Here are six recent study findings:
1. Eli Lilly’s investigational triple agonist retatrutide produced up to 30.3% body weight loss at two years in the Triumph-1 Phase 3 trial, narrowing the gap between pharmacotherapy and bariatric surgery, which typically delivers 30% to 35% weight loss over the same period.
2. An analysis of more than 430,000 patients found metabolic and bariatric surgery results in 20 percentage points greater weight loss than GLP-1s after one year, with higher remission rates for Type 2 diabetes, hypertension and hyperlipidemia.
3. Novo Nordisk said oral semaglutide Wegovy demonstrated greater average weight loss than Lilly’s orforglipron and lower odds of treatment discontinuation due to gastrointestinal side effects in new analyses. The company also reported 84% of respondents in a patient preference study favored a treatment profile resembling oral Wegovy over one resembling orforglipron.
4. GLP-1 use was linked to lower breast cancer incidence, reduced disease progression across breast, prostate, colorectal, pancreatic, liver and non-small cell lung cancers, improved recurrence-free and overall survival in colorectal cancer, and lower overall mortality in endometrial cancer patients with comorbid obesity.
5. Among 841,831 patients diagnosed with breast cancer, GLP-1 use was associated with lower all-cause mortality and risk of recurrence in patients with obesity or Type 2 diabetes, per a study published in JAMA Network Open.
6. Researchers at Boston-based Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center found GLP-1 drugs were associated with 44% lower odds of peptic ulcer disease among patients with Type 2 diabetes, with a 56% lower risk in patients who switched from metformin to a GLP-1 compared to those who switched to insulin.
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