WONDER DRUGS
Weight loss jabs like Ozempic and Wegovy could also slash your risk of cancer, ‘promising’ studies suggest
The injections have already been found to tackle type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke and possibly dementia
FAT jabs could be the cancer hope of the future after early studies found they reduce the risk of tumours.
The world’s top experts are preparing for a research boom to find out if the wonder drugs can head off the most feared disease.
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It would be yet another breakthrough for the injections like Wegovy and Ozempic, which have already been shown to tackle type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke and possibly dementia.
Dr Julie Gralow, chief medical officer at the American Society of Clinical Oncology, said at the society’s annual conference: “People are very interested in these drugs.
“Patients are asking about them and scientists want to study them.
“There are so many potential and already proven health benefits to these drugs, that it would be icing on the cake if we saw that they were also reducing cancers.
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“The data is promising and absolutely there will be more investigation.”
There are already signs the flab jabs, known as GLP-1 receptor agonists, could cut tumour risk.
Research by Case Western Reserve University in Ohio found obese people were 19 per cent less likely to get cancer if they used the injections than people who did not.
Dr Cindy Lin studied data from 20,000 people and said: “Based on our data, GLP-1 agonist therapy may be protective against cancer.”
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Another study by the same university analysed 1.2million people with type 2 diabetes and found their bowel cancer risk was halved if they used the GLP-1 drugs compared to only insulin.
Other findings also suggest the injections’ rapid weight loss could help breast cancer survivors avoid relapse, which is more likely in fat patients.
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Dr Sherry Shen, from the Memorial Sloan Kettering Center in New York, said: “GLP-1 drugs are very promising and we hope someday they will be a tool in cancer treatment.”
Dr Mitchell Lazar, from the University of Pennsylvania, added: “Obesity is a risk factor for nearly all cancers in both men and women.
“The revolution in the medical treatment of obesity has enormous potential to prevent new cancers, reduce the severity and growth rate of existing tumours, and join up with new cancer therapies.”
Medics do not yet know if it is only massive weight loss that will help avoid fat-related cancers or if the jabs do something else to the body to reduce the danger.
There are signs they can reduce harmful inflammation or control insulin to prevent the release of proteins that can help cancer cells grow.
ASCO’s Dr Gralow said: “People are very interested in studying whether there are other metabolic effects, besides the weight, that have benefits.”
Everything you need to know about fat jabs
Weight loss jabs are a hot media topic at the moment, with hundreds of success stories from people who shed the pounds.
In March 2023, the NHS announced it would make Wegovy, a drug made by Danish firm Novo Nordisk, available on prescription to thousands of obese Brits.
It contains the drug semaglutide, which is said to have helped reality star Kim Kardashian and Twitter boss Elon Musk lose weight.
Wegovy, which helped a third of people reduce their weight by 20 per cent in trials, is now available from pharmacies like Boots.
How do they work?
The jabs work by suppressing your appetite, making you eat less and therefore lose weight.
To do this, semaglutide mimics the role of a natural hormone, called GLP-1.
GLP-1 is part of the signalling pathway that tells your body you have eaten, and prepares it to use the energy that comes from your food.
London GP and founder of wellgoodwellbeing.com, Dr Zoe Watson, said: “Your body naturally produces an appetite regulating hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1.
“These jabs work by regulating your appetite, which can lead to eating fewer calories and losing weight.”
Aren’t they diabetes drugs?
Semaglutide, the active drug in Wegovy, was originally sold under the name Ozempic specifically for diabetes patients.
But people started noticing it helped suppress their appetites, stopping them eating as much and helping them shed the pounds.
Novo Nordisk then developed Wegovy, which contains the same chemical but at higher doses specifically to aid weight loss.
Wegovy is not prescribed for diabetes patients.
Can I get them?
Wegovy is offered on prescription to obese adults given specialist weight loss treatment.
The NHS currently also offers a similar drug called Saxenda, or liraglutide.
Both are only available on Tier 3 and Tier 4 weight management services, which means you have to be referred to weight management clinics led by experts.
GPs can’t prescribe them on their own either, Dr Watson said.
The jabs have to be taken as part of an overall programme to help with lifestyle changes and psychological support to get the best effect from the medication prescribed.
Despite being approved for use, supply of Wegovy on the NHS has been postponed indefinitely because of a surge in worldwide demand.
Supply was also halved in the US because of the skyrocketing demand.
Are there any risks?
Like all medicines, the jabs do not come without side effects.
Around half of people taking the drug experience gut issues, including sickness, bloating, acid reflux, constipation and diarrhoea.
Dr Sarah Jarvis, GP and clinical consultant at patient.info, said: “One of the more uncommon side effects is severe acute pancreatitis, which is extremely painful and happens to one in 500 people.”
Other uncommon side effects include altered taste, kidney problems, allergic reactions, thyroid tumours, gallbladder problems and hypoglycemia.
What other options are there?
Mounjaro (brand name for tirzepatide) also came onto the market in early 2024.
Like Wegovy, tirzepatide stems from a drug originally designed to treat diabetes.
The weekly injection helped overweight people drop more than two stone in 18 months.
It is available with to order with a prescription online from pharmacies including Superdrug and LloydsPharmacy Online Doctor.
It works in a similar way to Wegovy and Saxenda, but is more effective.
Dr Mitra Dutt from LloydsPharmacy says: “Based on clinical trials, 96 per cent of people were able to lose more than five per cent of their body fat using Mounjaro. In similar trials, 84 per cent of people lost more than five per cent of their body weight on Wegovy, and 60 per cent on Saxenda.
“Mounjaro works by activating two hormonal receptors (GIP and GLP-1), which enhance insulin production, improve insulin sensitivity, and work to decrease food intake."
Experts suggest about four in 10 cancers are linked to obesity, particularly bowel and breast tumours which are some of the most common.
Thirty per cent of Brits are obese and about two thirds of the population is overweight.
Data this week revealed that weight-related cancers are increasing in people younger than 50, with a bad diet and lack of exercise thought to be culprits.
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Professor Charles Swanton, top doctor at Cancer Research UK, said: “It is still early days in our understanding of GLP-1 drugs and whether they can reduce people’s risk of cancer.
“Trials will provide more clarity.”
Pros and cons of weight loss jabs
STUDIES seem to suggest fat jabs might be good for more than just shedding the pounds.
- They could help treat sleep apnoea
Drug maker Eli Lilly claimed its fat jab could help silence snoring by treating an underlying health condition called sleep apnoea.
After conducting two studies on adults with obesity and sleep apnoea, drug maker Eli Lilly claimed its fat jab Mounjaro could cut down the number of times people had breathing issues during the night.
After 52 weeks, those given 10-15 mg injections of Mounjaro, on average, experienced almost 30 fewer dangerous breathing events per hour, amounting to a 55 per cent drop.
2. They could help ward off Alzheimer's
A Danish study following people with type 2 diabetes for five years found those on weight loss jabs were less likely to develop dementia compared to those not on the drug.
However, obesity - which is associated with type 2 diabetes - is already known to increase the risk of Alzheimer's, according to the Alzheimer's Society.
This suggests it could just be the slimming effects that give it benefits against the disease.
3. They could slash heart disease risk
It's been suggested that fat jabs could protect heart health by slashing heart disease risk.
A trial found that taking semaglutide reduced the chances of early death, heart attack or stroke by 20 per cent for overweight people with heart trouble.
The injections improved heart health even in patients who didn't lose weight, the study showed, prompting calls for semaglutide to be dished out to overweight Brits who have heart disease.
4. They might crush drug, cigarette or booze cravings
The jabs are known to promote feelings of fullness and, it seems, dampen the reward associated not only with food but also drugs.
A Penn University study found liraglutide was as good as a fortnight in rehab for people addicted to painkillers.
But weight loss jabs are associated with side effects like nausea, diarrhoea, constipation, headache and dizziness.
Meanwhile, weight loss jabs have been linked to twenty deaths in Britain since 2019.