A diabetes medication that has become a household name may hold unexpected promise in the fight against cancer. Researchers analyzing real-world health records of over 12,000 patients have found that people taking GLP-1 receptor agonists—drugs like semaglutide (Ozempic), dulaglutide, and tirzepatide—were significantly less likely to develop advanced, metastatic cancer than those taking a different class of diabetes drug.
The finding matters because cancer progression to stage IV is often the most devastating turning point in a patient's journey. When tumors spread beyond their original site, treatment becomes exponentially harder and survival outcomes worsen. Even a meaningful reduction in that risk could reshape how clinicians think about medication choices for cancer patients who also manage obesity or diabetes.
Researchers at the Taussig Cancer Institute and Cleveland Clinic examined health records from the TriNetX database, comparing outcomes in people diagnosed with seven obesity-related cancers at stage I, II, or III. Half of the 12,112 participants had started a GLP-1 drug (including liraglutide, pramlintide, dulaglutide, tirzepatide, lixisenatide, or semaglutide) after their cancer diagnosis, while the other half had started a gliptin, a different diabetes medication, to serve as a comparison group. The participants were diverse: 55–60% white, 20–25% Black or African American, and 10–15% Asian.
The results were striking for four cancer types. People on GLP-1 drugs were 38–50% less likely to progress to stage IV cancer than those on gliptins. For lung cancer, just 10% of the GLP-1 group developed metastatic disease compared to 22% of the gliptin group. In breast cancer, the rates were 10% versus 20%. Colorectal cancer showed 13% versus 22%, and liver cancer 19% versus 28%. For three other cancers studied—prostate, pancreatic, and kidney—the GLP-1 group showed lower metastasis rates, but the differences were not statistically significant.
The research team went deeper, investigating whether the GLP-1 system itself plays a protective role. Using data from The Cancer Genome Atlas, they found that tumors with high GLP-1 receptor expression were associated with a 33% lower risk of death compared to tumors with low expression. For breast cancer specifically, this protective effect was even stronger—a 45% reduction in mortality risk. "Our study found that use of GLP-1 drugs, compared to DPP-4 inhibitors and other antidiabetic drugs, was associated with a meaningful reduction in cancer progression across four solid tumor types," said Dr. Mark David Orland, the study's lead author. "It provides early evidence that future studies are worth pursuing."
Safety profiles were comparable between the two groups, with no increase in stomach or pancreas inflammation in the GLP-1 group, allaying concerns about using these medications in cancer patients.
The research will be presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting in Chicago in May 2026, setting the stage for the next phase: randomized controlled trials specifically designed to test whether GLP-1 drugs can slow cancer progression. Scientists are now pursuing parallel investigations into the mechanism—whether these drugs work by directly halting cancer cell growth, by strengthening immune response, by reducing inflammation, or by cutting off the fuel supply that tumors depend on.