The study reviewed health records for more than 86,000 adults with obesity. About half took GLP-1 receptor agonists, the class of drugs that includes Ozempic and Wegovy, while the other half did not.

The research, published in Jama Oncology, also examined health record data from 2014 to 2024 for adults over 18 who were eligible for anti-obesity medications and did not have a prior cancer history.

Of the 86,632 individuals sampled – 68.2% of whom were female – the results indicated a “significantly lower overall cancer risk” among those taking GLP-1s.

The biggest reductions were seen for endometrial cancer, ovarian cancer and meningioma, a type of brain tumour.

At the same time, the drugs were linked to a possible higher risk of kidney cancer, though the increase was not considered statistically strong.

The study does not prove the drugs directly reduce or increase cancer risk, but it shows a clear link that researchers said needs longer-term follow-up to “clarify the underlying mechanisms and clinical implications of these findings”.

GLP-1 drugs are widely prescribed in the US, first for type-2 diabetes and increasingly for weight management.