Evidence mapPaperPMID 41482652Full record

ArticleThe Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism2026

GLP-1 receptor agonists in patients with cancer are associated with reduced all-cause mortality and hospitalization.

Aditya Mahadevan, Aidan Vosooghi, Jagmeet S Arora, Ruthvik Sunil Kumar, Gagandeep Singh, Katy K Tsai, Zoe Quandt

Abstract readComparative Study
In one paragraph

Article in The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Aditya MahadevanDepartment of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-2834-5487
Aidan VosooghiDepartment of Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
Jagmeet S AroraSchool of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, CA 92617, USA.
Ruthvik Sunil KumarDepartment of Medicine, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, USA.
Gagandeep SinghDepartment of Computer Science, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
Katy K TsaiDivision of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA.
Zoe QuandtDivision of Endocrinology, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-4568-4368

Funding

Diabetes-Docs: Physician-Scientist Career Development Program (DiabDocs)K12DK133995 · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · 2025 to 2025
$3.7M
NIDDK NIH HHS K12DK133995
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

contextGlucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) have been reported to decrease cancer incidence, but less is known about their potential in patients with active cancer. Preclinical studies have demonstrated that GLP-1RAs inhibit progression of solid tumor malignancies via downregulation of cellular proliferation pathways and improved glycemic control. Despite these promising findings, studies characterizing the effects of GLP-1RAs in patients with active cancer are limited.

objectiveTo evaluate the effects of GLP-1RAs on mortality and hospitalization in patients with type 2 diabetes and active cancer compared to those receiving metformin.

methodsUsing TriNetX, a global database comprising more than 120 million patients, we identified an overall cohort of 3747 patients with type 2 diabetes who received GLP-1RAs within 3 months of starting systemic therapy and identified 52 061 patients receiving metformin in the same timeframe as a control cohort. Additional subanalyses stratified patients by glycated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) range, obesity, and by participants "newly started" on their first instance of GLP-1 RA within 3 months of starting cancer treatment.

resultsPatients receiving GLP-1RAs had significantly reduced mortality both in the overall monotherapy setting (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.875; 95% CI, 0.778-0.985; P = .0268) and the new-start setting (HR: 0.786; 95% CI, 0.662-0.934; P = .0062) cohorts. Secondary analyses found lower rates of all-cause hospitalization, sepsis, major adverse cardiovascular events, pulmonary embolism, and pneumonia in patients on GLP-1RAs. Subanalyses stratified by body mass index and HbA1c did not meet statistical significance.

conclusionPatients with diabetes and cancer who received GLP-1RAs experienced superior survival outcomes and reduced rates of hospitalization compared to patients receiving metformin. Additionally, patients already on metformin and newly started on GLP-1RAs demonstrated superior survival outcomes compared to patients newly started on insulin. Further prospective, well-controlled studies are needed to evaluate the benefits of GLP-1RAs in patients with diabetes and cancer.

Indexed as

Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor AgonistsHypoglycemic AgentsMetforminNeoplasmsAgedFemaleHospitalizationHumansKaplan-Meier EstimateMaleMiddle AgedProportional Hazards ModelsRetrospective StudiesTreatment OutcomeGlucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor AgonistsHypoglycemic AgentsMetformincancerdulaglutideexenatideGLP-1RAliraglutidesemaglutidesurvivaltirzepatide

Identifiers

PMID41482652
PMCPMC13183429

What Socratic holds

Texttitle and abstract
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.