Scientists from Chaim Sheba Medical Center in Israel found that Ozempic and other GLP-1 receptor agonist drugs do not increase the risk of pancreatic cancer in patients with diabetes. Research results published JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) in Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacology.
Ozempic belongs to a class of drugs that reduce blood sugar and dietary energy intake by activating the GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) receptor. It mimics the action of a hormone produced by the body when food enters the stomach and helps the pancreas produce insulin when glucose levels are high.
As the frequency of use of such drugs increases, concerns about their possible side effects are also increasing. Some studies in the 2010s suggested that GLP-1 receptor agonists may increase the risk of pancreatic cancer.
Israeli scientists managed to find that patients with type 2 diabetes who take GLP-1 receptor agonists have no higher risk of developing pancreatic cancer than those who use insulin alone. These results were obtained in a study involving 543,595 people with diabetes and overweight.
Scientists first collected information about the subjects’ health conditions and then began monitoring them. Pancreatic cancer developed in 1,665 people in 9 years. However, the incidence of morbidity associated with insulin therapy and the use of GLP-1 receptor agonists was similar.
It is stated that GLP-1 receptor agonists have some advantages over insulin. For patients with type 2 diabetes, such medications may be effective in maintaining a healthy weight and blood pressure and reducing the risk of hypoglycemia, a condition in which blood sugar levels fall below normal levels.
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