by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

A study has found no evidence that glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist (GLP1-RA) use is associated with an increased risk of thyroid cancer.

The study is published in the peer-reviewed journal Thyroid.

GLP1-Ras are incretin-based glucose-lowering medications that are commonly used to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity.

Professor Anton Pottegård, from the University of Southern Denmark, and co-authors, analyzed databases from six countries, comparing patients with type 2 diabetes between 2007 and 2023 for the risk of thyroid cancer among GLP1-RA users compared with dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors (DPP-4is). The investigators examined data from 92,497 users of GLP1-RA and 2,484,408 users of DPP-4i.

“In this large multisite study, utilizing data from six population-based databases, we found no evidence that GLP1-RA use is associated with an increased risk of thyroid cancer with follow-up ranging from 1.8–3.0 years, providing some reassurance to patients and clinicians about the short-term safety of these drugs,” concluded the investigators.

More information: Sarah M. Baxter et al, Glucagon-Like Peptide 1 Receptor Agonists and Risk of Thyroid Cancer: An International Multisite Cohort Study, Thyroid® (2025). DOI: 10.1089/thy.2024.0387

Provided by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc

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