Another win for GLP-1s and cancer risk: 5 study notes

Patients with endometrial hyperplasia or benign uterine pathology had a 66% reduced risk of developing endometrial cancer when treated with progestins and a GLP-1 compared to patients treated with progestins alone, according to a study published Feb. 10 in JAMA Network Open.

GLP-1 medications have also been associated with a “dramatically” lower mortality rate among colon cancer patients.

The study was led by researchers from the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in El Paso, and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, which are both based in Boston. They analyzed deidentified TriNetX data of adult women with endometrial hyperplasia or benign uterine pathology who received progestins between May 1, 2005, and Dec. 31, 2022, to identify the effects of GLP-1 therapy on future cancer and hysterectomy risk. 

Here are five things to know from the study:

1. Outcomes from four treatment pathways and combinations were compared: GLP-1 plus progestins, metformin plus progestins, progestins only, and a triple therapy of GLP-1s, metformin and progestins.
   
   
2. Of the study cohort, 18,414 women were treated with a GLP-1 plus progestins and 426,406 were treated with progestins alone.
   
   
3. The 66% reduction in endometrial cancer risk associated with GLP-1 plus progestin therapy remained consistent across subgroups, baseline risk, BMI, age and progestin administration route.
   
   GLP-1 plus progestin therapy was associated with a 70% reduction in endometrial cancer risk when compared to metformin plus progestins.
   
   
4. The triple therapy of GLP-1s, metformin and progestins was associated with a 63% lower endometrial cancer risk when compared to metformin plus progestins and a 56% lower risk when compared to progestins alone.
   
   
5. Patients treated with a GLP-1 plus progestins had a lower risk of hysterectomy during a two-year and five-year follow-up, at 53% and 41%, respectively. 

Read the full study here. 

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