Weight loss injections may have a hidden benefit for a certain group of breast cancer patients, a new study has found.
Scientists studying the hormone estrone, which is produced in adipose tissue, say it could be linked to an increased risk of death from breast cancer in postmenopausal women with obesity.
Research by Dr. Joyce Slingerland at Georgetown University suggests that these women may benefit from GLP-1 drugs, a group of popular weight-loss drugs including Ozempic and Mounjaro.
Dr. Slingerland analyzed data from women with estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancer—the most common and deadliest form of the disease in postmenopausal women.
He found that estrogen is the main cause of breast cancer in obese postmenopausal women. This is in contrast to premenopausal women, whose primary form of estrogen is 17β-estradiol.
Estrone is produced in adipose tissue and can bind to certain proteins to activate genes that cause inflammation.
Dr. Slingerland’s research has shown that high levels of estrone stimulate intense inflammatory activity, setting off a cascade that causes precancerous changes and activates cancer-promoting genes.
He said there is also evidence that estrogen and the inflammation it causes can damage the immune system’s ability to recognize and kill cancer cells.
He now believes that studies analyzing GLP-1 drugs in women with ER-positive breast cancer who are obese are a “logical and compelling next step.”
“GLP-1 drugs have revolutionized weight loss,” Dr. Slingerland said. Because of the potent inflammatory effects of estrone in adipose tissue, there is a real potential that by inducing weight loss, GLP-1 drugs could inhibit the cancer-promoting behavior of estrone.
Dr Kotryna Temcinaite, head of research and impact communications at the breast cancer charity, said it is estimated that around 8% of breast cancers in the UK are linked to being overweight or obese.
“Here, the researchers emphasize that different forms of the hormone estrogen present before and after menopause could be behind this,” he said. Independent. Estrogen is what the most common type of breast cancer, called ER-positive, depends on for growth. And people who are obese have much higher estrogen levels.
We now need to better understand how different weight loss approaches—including weight loss drugs, physical activity, and dietary changes—can help lower estrogen levels. Whether it is used alongside the treatment of breast cancer or for the prevention of the disease.
When it comes to weight-loss drugs, we still need more research to understand how these drugs can benefit people with breast cancer—whether they work long-term and whether they can reduce breast cancer deaths.
