FRIDAY, March 13, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- For patients with cancer and brain metastases (BM) and type 2 diabetes (T2D), glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1 RA) use is associated with significantly lower all-cause mortality, according to a research letter published online March 11 in JAMA Network Open.
Kuan-Yu Chi, M.D., from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, New York, and colleagues conducted a retrospective cohort study to examine the association between GLP-1 RA use and survival among patients with BM and T2D. The exposed cohort included adult patients prescribed GLP-1 RAs within six months before the first instance of T2D and BM diagnosis, while the control cohort had no GLP-1 RA use during the same period.
After propensity score matching, a total of 850 GLP-1 RA users were matched to nonusers among a total of 19,234 patients with cancer, BM, and T2D. The researchers found that all-cause mortality was significantly lower in association with GLP-1 RA use (hazard ratio, 0.63). The observed mortality benefit was consistent across major cancer types and GLP-1 RA types, apart from liraglutide, and compared with other antidiabetes therapies.
"These results build upon existing evidence that GLP-1 receptor activation modulates pathways relevant to neuro-oncologic health, including attenuation of neuroinflammation, preservation of blood-brain barrier integrity, and reduction of oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction," the authors write.