What if the one injection that is helping you lose weight and manage diabetes also protect you from cancer? That's the surprising promise emerging from a new study on GLP-1 drugs, drugs already drawing attention for their ability to battle obesity and regulate blood sugar. Now scientists have discovered a potential new advantage: a much reduced risk of cancers related to obesity.

While the global use of GLP-1 agonists such as Saxenda and Byetta is gaining speed, this research unlocks a thrilling new era in preventive care. But just how do such medications function and why could they be protecting us against cancer?

After once being touted as miracle drugs for treating obesity and type 2 diabetes, GLP-1 medications such as Saxenda and Byetta are now uncovering a new benefit: a reduced risk of cancer. New research in the journal eClinicalMedicine identifies that these initial weight-loss medications may have more to their credit than just reducing waistlines—they can cut the risk of developing obesity-linked cancers by a dramatic 41%.

This finding has the potential to change forever the way that we think about the wider ramifications of GLP-1 treatments, particularly in a world where metabolic diseases are closely associated with cancer susceptibility. But why might this new benefit exist? And how do these drugs actually work?

What Are GLP-1 Drugs and How Do They Work?

GLP-1 agonists (glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists) are a type of drug that mimics the effect of an endogenous hormone involved in the modulation of appetite, blood glucose levels, and digestion. Initially approved for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, they've become very popular due to their capacity to cause weight loss by reducing hunger and slowing gastric emptying.

Drugs such as liraglutide (Saxenda) and exenatide (Byetta) are usually given through subcutaneous injection. Newer forms, including semaglutide (Ozempic) and tirzepatide (Zepbound), have greater efficacy in weight loss and metabolic control, although they were not part of this specific study.

GLP-1 acts via a cascade of hormonal action:

• It triggers the release of insulin from the pancreas, lowering blood sugar.
• It inhibits the release of glucagon, a hormone that increases blood sugar.
• It reduces the rate at which the stomach empties following meals.

Perhaps most importantly for managing weight, it sends satiety messages to the brain to make people feel fuller for longer.

Missing Link Between Cancer Risk and Obesity

Both type 2 diabetes and obesity are firmly established as risk factors for many forms of cancer, such as breast, colon, uterine, pancreatic, and liver cancer. This can be explained by the chronic inflammation, insulin resistance, and hormonal imbalance that accompany excess fat stores.

For their new study, scientists from Clalit Health Services in Tel Aviv, Israel, analyzed electronic health records of more than 6,300 adults age 24 and above. Everyone involved had both type 2 diabetes and obesity and received either GLP-1 medication or weight-loss surgery between 2010 and 2018. The group was followed through to December 2023 to record cancer diagnoses.

During a median follow-up of 7.5 years, approximately 300 individuals developed cancer of the obesity type—predominantly breast (26%), colon (16%), and uterus (15%).

GLP-1 vs. Surgery

Although bariatric surgery has been the obesity treatment gold standard for decades—and was in turn found to lower cancer risk—scientists discovered obesity-associated cancers were equal in both the surgery and GLP-1 groups. This was unexpected because surgery tends to induce greater and more immediate weight loss.

Still, additional statistical examination found that the GLP-1 medications offered a 41% lower risk of cancerous developments than surgery indicated that their anti-cancer benefit might extend beyond weight loss alone.

Reason Behind the Anti-Cancer Effect

According to co-lead researcher Dr. Dror Dicker, who heads the Obesity Clinic at Hasharon Hospital-Rabin Medical Center, the anti-cancer effects of GLP-1 drugs likely stem from multiple mechanisms. “Reducing inflammation, improving insulin sensitivity, and altering cellular growth pathways may all play a role,” he noted in a news release.

While more recent, more powerful GLP-1 medications such as Ozempic and Zepbound were not included in the study, researchers are convinced they may provide even stronger protective effects. However, additional long-term studies are necessary to determine their impacts on cancers that are not related to obesity.

Can It Change Cancer Treatment?

This new evidence indicates a paradigm shift of foundational importance in the way we think about metabolic health interventions. GLP-1 medications could soon be hailed not merely as weight-loss supplements or treatments for diabetes but as prevention against one of the world's most dreaded illnesses.

Nevertheless, prudence is still advisable. Long-term experience with these drugs is lacking, and their side effects, including nausea, gastrointestinal upset, and possible hazards for thyroid tumors, need to be weighed. A boxed warning is now placed on the list of the FDA for some GLP-1 drugs for thyroid C-cell tumors, although this has so far been seen most commonly in animal models.

With the worldwide obesity epidemic on the rise, so is the need to know how drugs such as GLP-1 agonists can change not only waistlines, but also long-term health endpoints. The notion that a single class of medication might lower the risk of cancer in addition to managing blood glucose and reducing appetite is revolutionary.

Additional research, particularly with next-generation GLP-1 drugs, will be necessary to more fully investigate and validate these benefits but for the time being, this study introduces an exhilarating and promising new chapter at the nexus of cancer prevention and obesity treatment.

Thousands of Indians die every year from heart disease. Now you may link it to high cholesterol and a lack of physical exercise, but the reality is different. According to researchers, these deaths are a result of exposure to a harmful chemical that is present in shampoos, food containers and all other common household plastic products.

A recent study published in The Lancet eBioMedicine has identified a significant link between exposure to di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP)—a chemical commonly used to make plastics more flexible—and heart disease deaths. Surprisingly, among the 200 countries evaluated, India had the highest burden of DEHP-linked cardiovascular deaths and accounted for almost a third of the global mortalities.

What Is DEHP?

DEHP is prevalent in numerous household items, including food containers, medical equipment, toys, shampoos and lotions. The study, conducted by researchers at NYU Langone Health, analysed urine samples and environmental data from over 200 countries and territories. They found that in 2018, DEHP exposure was associated with around 356,238 deaths among individuals aged 55 to 64, accounting for over 13 per cent of global heart disease deaths in that age group. The researchers attributed India's elevated mortality to the rapid expansion of its plastics industry, widespread use of DEHP-containing products and weaker regulatory controls compared to some other nations.

It is estimated that chemicals in plastic were linked to nearly 350,000 heart disease deaths across the world in 2018. Adding to that, is this study published in the journal eBioMedicine, which estimated that roughly 13 per cent of cardiovascular deaths among 55- to 64-year-olds worldwide that year could be attributed to phthalates.

Where Are Phthalates are esters of phthalic acids, which are added to plastics to increase their flexibility, transparency, durability, and longevity. They are found in personal care products like shampoos and lotions as well as in food containers and packaging. It is also possible to ingest them through food, absorb them through skin from products containing them or breathe them from dust.

Study Shows Phthalates Increase Risk of Heart Diseases

Some studies have shown an association between phthalates and cardiovascular disease, but there isn’t strong evidence to show that the chemicals directly cause heart issues, said Sung Kyun Park, a professor of epidemiology and environmental sciences at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. However, there is enough evidence that states that phthalates increase the risk of metabolic disorders like obesity and Type 2 diabetes, which can cause cardiovascular disease. One way phthalates may do this is by increasing oxidative stress—cell and tissue damage that happens when there are too many unstable molecules in the body—and by promoting inflammation.

US administration is slated to lay out a new approach to COVID vaccination at an event on Tuesday that could spell major changes in what is required to get regulatory approval for immunisations. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is featuring an upcoming town hall, set to begin Tuesday at 1 pm in Washington, titled "An evidence based approach to Covid vaccination." The two speakers listed are FDA Commissioner Marty Makary and Vinay Prasad, an outspoken critic of the drug industry who was recently appointed to lead the agency’s division that oversees vaccines.

This comes as the U.S. The Health and Human Services Department says it will require placebo testing of “all new vaccines.” In a statement to the Washington Post, the agency headed by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. called the new requirement “a radical departure from past practices.” It must be noted that Kennedy Jr. has been a blatant vaxxer.

Why is Covid Vaccination Still Important?

In contrast to the mRNA-based platforms of Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, Novavax's vaccine is based on a recombinant protein platform—a technology that is akin to those employed in licensed vaccines such as hepatitis B. This technology could be desirable to those who were resistant to mRNA vaccines because they are worried about newer biotechnology.

Experts indicate that the Novavax vaccine might also be attractive in populations or regions where cold storage demands for mRNA vaccines have presented logistical problems. Yet with limited approval, this advantage won't necessarily come into full play under the existing rollout.

Who Can Actually Get The New Covid Vaccine?

The newly approved Novavax vaccine under the brand name Nuvaxovid will only be issued to:

Adults 65 and older

People aged 12 to 64 years with underlying health conditions

Such conditions, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), include asthma, diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, and pregnancy. Behavioral and lifestyle risks like smoking, physical inactivity, and substance abuse also come under this category.

While the wide range of risk factors might limit the decision to many, most in the medical field find the ruling too restrictive. Former FDA Chief Scientist Jesse Goodman criticized the agency's limited approval publicly, saying, "The FDA approval process is intended to determine safety and efficacy, and permit access to approved vaccines. It is not where one makes policy suggestions for use of approved vaccines."

The newly-released figures show a troubling trend in death rates in the UK when compared with 21 other high-income countries, as well as finding deep inequalities in health between different parts of the UK.

Drawing on new research commissioned from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, the data suggest improvements in UK death rates slowed down significantly in the 2010s, more so than in most of the 21 other high-income countries studied.

By 2023, female mortality rates in the UK were 14% higher than the median of peer countries, with male mortality rates 9% higher. The research reveals significant inequalities across the UK.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all have higher mortality rates than England, with Scotland performing particularly poorly. In 2021, only the US had a worse mortality rate than Scotland among the countries studied, while mortality rates were 20% higher in the North East and North West of England than in the South West.

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The relative worsening of death rates among the working age population is particularly stark. In 2023, female mortality rates for people aged 25-49 were 46% higher than the median of the other countries studied, and male rates were 31% higher.

Only Canada and the US experienced a similar worsening of death rates among this age group during the 2010s.

Poorer working age health in the UK is leading to lower labour force participation and acting as a drag on growth. Among the top three causes of death for people aged 25–49, death rates for cancers and circulatory diseases improved between 2001 and 2019.

In contrast, death rates from external causes (deaths due to injuries, poisonings and violence) worsened, accounting for 70%-80% of the difference in UK death rates at this age compared to the median of the countries studied over this period.

The research found that this is being fuelled by a shocking rise in drug-related deaths, with the rate of drug-related deaths in the UK more than three times higher in 2019 than the average of peer countries. It also found stark geographic inequalities in drug-related deaths.

In 2019, the drug-related mortality rate among 25–49-year-olds in Scotland was around 4 times higher than in England. Within England, the drug-related mortality rate in the North East was 3.5 times higher for males and almost 4 times higher for females than in London.

With the UK's health comparing increasingly poorly with other high-income countries, the Health Foundation is calling for a new strategy to tackle health inequalities, alongside long-term action to rebuild the nation's health and promote economic recovery in areas of long run industrial decline.

Dame Jennifer Dixon, Chief Executive of the Health Foundation, said: “This report is a health check we can’t afford to ignore – and the diagnosis is grim.

"The UK is becoming the sick person of the wealthy world, especially for people of working age. While other nations moved forward, we stalled – and in some areas, slipped badly behind."

The soaring drug-related deaths in Scotland and the North East are not just tragic – they are symptoms of long-standing neglect, economic stagnation and policy failure.

It’s clear that sticking plasters won’t cut it: we need a bold, long-term health strategy that tackles prevention, inequality, and underinvestment in public health head-on. And in particular far more urgent and targeted action on drugs.

“Improvements are possible and urgently needed Improving the nation’s health is not a luxury – it’s a necessity for economic growth and social stability.”