Risk for specific hematologic cancers down with GLP-1 receptor agonist use in type 2 diabetes

For patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D), glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1 RA) use is associated with a reduced risk for developing hematologic cancers compared with insulin and metformin use, according to a research letter published online March 6 in JAMA Network Open.

Omer S. Ashruf, from Northeast Ohio Medical University in Rootstown, and colleagues conducted a retrospective cohort study to compare the risks for hematologic cancers in patients with T2D treated with a GLP-1 RA versus metformin and insulin. The study included patients with T2D prescribed a GLP-1 RA, insulin, or metformin between April 30, 2005, and Oct. 31, 2023 (51,617; 611,115; and 938,602 patients, respectively). Groups were independently matched using a nearest neighbor greedy matching algorithm; 47,716 patients were included in the GLP-1 RA-insulin analysis and 50,590 were included in the GLP-1 RA-metformin analysis.

The researchers found that GLP-1 RA use was associated with significantly lower risks for of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) compared with metformin (hazard ratios, 0.61 and 0.67, respectively). No significant difference was seen in the risk for any other hematologic cancer.

GLP-1 RA use was associated with significantly lower risks for myeloid leukemia, lymphoid leukemia, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, MDS, MPN, monoclonal gammopathy, multiple myeloma, and amyloidosis compared with insulin (hazard ratios, 0.39, 0.45, 0.42, 0.19, 0.50, 0.68, 0.49, and 0.52, respectively). GLP-1 RA use was associated with a 54% lower risk than that seen with insulin across all hematologic cancers.

"The findings of this cohort study suggest that GLP-1 RAs are associated with reduced risk of developing several hematologic cancers, particularly MDS and MPN, in patients with T2D," the authors write.

One author disclosed ties to Celegene, BMS, and Carobou.

© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.