A comprehensive registry study involving Denmark, Sweden, and Norway reassures that semaglutide, a medication for diabetes and weight management, does not elevate the risk of pancreatic cancer, countering longstanding concerns.
A large Scandinavian registry study presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes meeting in Milan has found no evidence that semaglutide raises the risk of pancreatic cancer, adding fresh reassurance about one of the most closely watched diabetes and weight-loss medicines.
The research, led by Anton Pottegård of the University of Southern Denmark and funded by Novo Nordisk as part of a regulator-mandated safety study, drew on nationwide health records from Denmark, Sweden and Norway. It compared 97,464 people starting semaglutide with matched patients who began other non-incretin diabetes treatments, including sulfonylureas, SGLT-2 inhibitors and insulin.
Researchers followed patients after an initial one-year lag period and found 131 cases of pancreatic cancer among semaglutide users, compared with 123 among the matched comparison group. The pooled analysis showed no increased risk overall, and country-level results were consistent across Denmark, Sweden and Norway. The findings also showed no sign of a dose-response pattern, which would have suggested risk rising with higher cumulative exposure or longer use.
The results matter because concerns about possible pancreatic harm have followed GLP-1 receptor agonists, the drug class that includes semaglutide, since early signals from spontaneous adverse-event reports and laboratory studies in rodents. Semaglutide is used for type 2 diabetes and weight management, and regulators required the post-authorisation study when the drug was first approved. Taken together with previous safety work on the medicine, the new data strengthen the view that semaglutide’s cancer profile does not appear to differ from other glucose-lowering drugs used at a similar stage of diabetes treatment.
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