Health Rounds: Drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy may lower liver cancer risk linked to diabetes

Hello Health Rounds Readers! Some benefits of newer diabetes treatments like Ozempic are still being discovered. They not only control blood sugar and help shed pounds, but we now find that they may also lower the risk of developing liver cancer. We also report on an experimental antibody drug that appears to significantly reduce the risk of contracting symptomatic malaria, potentially addressing a large unmet need.

Class of diabetes drugs tied to lower liver cancer risk

The heightened risk for liver cancer associated with type 2 diabetes may be reduced by treatment with a newer class of diabetes medications known as GLP-1 agonists, such as Novo Nordisk's NOVO_B Ozempic, a large study has found.

In the five-year study of nearly 1.9 million patients receiving various treatments for type 2 diabetes, the GLP-1s were associated with an 80% lower risk of a new diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) compared with insulin treatment, the researchers estimated.

People with diabetes have a two to four-fold higher risk of developing liver cancer than those without diabetes, even when other risk factors are considered, earlier research has shown.

Among patients in the study who were not receiving insulin, the GLP-1 drugs were linked with a 61% lower risk of HCC compared with sulfonylurea drugs such as glipizide and glyburide, and a 37% lower risk compared with metformin.

Patients in the study were taking a variety of GLP-1 treatments including semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic and Novo's popular weight-loss drug Wegovy.

The drugs were also associated with a significantly lower risk of a form of acute liver failure known as hepatic decompensation.

Researchers reported their results on Monday in Gastroenterology.

The reduced risks were seen in patients with and without fatty liver diseases, obesity, and alcohol or tobacco use disorders, according to the report.

Observational studies such as this one cannot prove cause and effect. But based on the results, studies are warranted to confirm the value of using GLP-1 for HCC prevention, the research team said.

Experimental antibody protects children from malaria

A single injection of an experimental monoclonal antibody was 77% effective at protecting children from symptomatic malaria during the peak season for the disease in Mali, according to results of a mid-stage trial published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

Among children who received a 300-milligram dose of the anti-malarial antibody L9LS, 40% became infected with the Plasmodium falciparum parasite that causes the disease and 19% developed symptomatic malaria. By comparison, infection and symptoms were documented in 81% and 59%, respectively, in children who received a placebo.

The antibody had previously been shown to be 88% effective against infection in a small early trial in adults.

“A long-acting monoclonal antibody delivered at a single healthcare visit that rapidly provides high-level protection against malaria in these vulnerable populations would fulfill an unmet public health need,” said Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which developed the antibody and sponsored the trial.

The researchers are testing the antibody in other high-risk populations, such as infants and young children, children hospitalized with severe anemia, and in women of childbearing potential to prepare to test the antibody during pregnancy.

An editorial published with the study notes that although the results are promising, the success of monoclonal antibodies will also be highly dependent on “operational feasibility” and cost-effectiveness. Complex biologic drugs tend to be expensive and may need special handling, such as cold storage requirements, that can be challenging for healthcare systems in many low-income countries and certain geographic areas.