Weight-Loss Drugs May Have Surprising Side Effect: Stalling Cancer

May 26, 2026

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(WSJ) – New studies suggest drugs like Ozempic, Zepbound might slow tumor progression and improve survival; more research needed to confirm finding

A suite of four new studies suggest that people taking so-called GLP-1 drugs like Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro saw reductions in tumor progression, lower overall chance of death and less risk of developing breast cancer.

“It’s really provocative that they showed, in several cancers, that people who took these drugs seem to have a lower risk of their cancer returning,” said Dr. Jennifer Ligibel, a breast oncologist at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute who wasn’t involved in any of the studies. (Read More)