Ozempic (semaglutide) carries a ‘boxed warning’ for thyroid cancer based on animal studies. Medicalnewstoday.com summarised the current cancer research:
The current boxed warning is based on studies where ‘some rats developed thyroid tumours after receiving semaglutide’ (the active ingredient in Ozempic). However, animal studies don’t always predict a drug’s effects in humans and ‘no cases of thyroid cancer were reported in clinical trials of Ozempic’.
But because of the findings in animals, Ozempic is not usually prescribed for people who have either a personal or family history of medullary thyroid cancer or a rare genetic condition called multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 (MEN2). These conditions may increase the risk of thyroid cancer.
Symptoms of thyroid cancer while receiving Ozempic include: difficulty swallowing; hoarseness or voice changes; persistent cough; a lump or swelling in the neck.
There are no confirmed cancer risk percentages for people using Ozempic. A recent Romanian research review reported in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences involving Ozempic for type 2 diabetes and obesity found no apparent increase in thyroid cancer risk.
Clinical trials of Ozempic have not shown an increased risk of breast cancer and ‘to date, there’s no strong evidence to suggest Ozempic causes breast cancer’. In addition, Brazilian research published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism ‘does not show a clear link between Ozempic and breast cancer’.
Ozempic is not known to cause prostate problems, including prostate cancer or an enlarged prostate. Indeed a Chinese research review in the journal Medicine ‘suggests GLP- 1 receptor agonists (Ozempic is one) may help lower the risk of prostate cancer’.
In summary, ‘there’s no confirmed evidence that Ozempic causes cancer in humans.’
