A new study from the University of Leicester has found that weight loss treatments—including medications and surgery—may help reduce the risk of developing certain cancers in people who are obese and have type 2 diabetes.
The findings offer new hope in the fight against both obesity and cancer.
The study, published in the journal Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, looked at health data from about 180,000 adults.
The researchers focused on the number of people who developed obesity-related cancers, such as breast, bowel (colorectal), gallbladder, liver, ovarian, pancreatic, and uterine cancers.
The research team compared cancer rates among people who had received different types of treatments.
These included the popular weight-loss drugs semaglutide and tirzepatide, as well as bariatric surgery (a surgical procedure to help people lose weight). The researchers also looked at people who only received medications to treat their diabetes.
Dr. Jonathan Goldney, one of the lead authors of the study, explained that the team saw a clear pattern. People who had undergone bariatric surgery had about 15% fewer cases of cancer compared to others. People who were prescribed semaglutide also had a lower risk, with around 12% fewer cases of cancer.
“These findings make sense,” Dr. Goldney said. “More and more research shows that obesity increases the risk of developing cancer. If weight loss treatments help reduce obesity, they might also lower cancer risk.”
Another lead author, Testimony Ipaye, added that the large number of people included in the study gives them confidence that the results apply to many different patients. “This research could really make a difference in how we manage care for people with obesity and type 2 diabetes,” she said.
Professor Melanie Davies, who co-led the study, said the results are very exciting. As weight loss drugs like semaglutide become more common, researchers want to better understand all of their health effects. “These findings give us hope that weight loss treatments could also help prevent cancer, not just treat obesity and diabetes,” she said.
Obesity and type 2 diabetes are both linked to higher risks of several serious diseases, including many types of cancer. This study adds to the growing evidence that managing weight effectively can improve long-term health outcomes.
More research is still needed to confirm how exactly these treatments help lower cancer risk. But for now, this study suggests that medications and surgeries used for weight loss might offer extra health benefits beyond what we already knew.
The study is published in Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism.
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