Popular weight loss injections including Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro could increase the risk of thyroid cancer within the first year of use, concerning new research has suggested.
The drugs, which have helped millions of people shed up to a fifth of their body weight, have been found to open patients up to a “significantly higher” risk of the illness compared to other diabetes or weight loss medications.
The findings come from American doctors, whose study tracked more than 350,000 patients.
Researchers from the University of Maryland in Baltimore studied 351,913 patients with type 2 diabetes, with an average age of 65.
Drugs like Wegovy have helped millions of people shed up to a fifth of their body weight
PA
Over 40,000 participants were prescribed GLP-1 agonists – the class of drugs that includes these weight loss jabs.
The study compared these patients to others taking three common diabetes medications: DDP-4 inhibitors, SGLT2 inhibitors and sulfonylurea therapy.
Results showed a marked increase in thyroid cancer risk during the first year after starting the GLP-1 drugs compared to the alternative treatments.
But when researchers examined the full six-year study period, they found the increased risk was no longer significant.
“This finding may have been due to enhanced early detection, therefore, further research is necessary to understand the underlying causes of this association,” the study authors wrote in the JAMA Ophthalmology journal.
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Research showed a marked increase in thyroid cancer risk during the first year after starting the GLP-1 drugs
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The scientists noted they were unable to differentiate between different types of thyroid cancer in their research.
They emphasised that further studies would be “critical” to understanding the specific link between these medications and thyroid cancer.
Around half a million Britons are now thought to be using these weight loss medications, which can help users lose up to 20 per cent of their body weight within months.
Recent data has revealed growing safety concerns, with almost 400 Britons hospitalised since the rollout of jabs like Wegovy, Mounjaro, and Saxenda.
Most reactions involve gastrointestinal issues such as severe nausea and diarrhoea leading to dehydration.
Some doctors have reported seeing patients with more serious complications, including seizures, bowel obstruction and inflammation of the pancreas.
Earlier this month, the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) removed 150 social media posts illegally selling counterfeit weight loss drugs.
The action followed a warning from the Advertising Standards Authority to advertisers and influencers about promoting prescription-only weight loss medicines to the public.
Under NHS guidelines, these medications should only be prescribed to patients with a BMI over 35, or those with a BMI of 30 plus a weight-related health condition like high blood pressure.