Cancer patients warned not to use weight-loss jabs
Cancer patients should not take 'quick fix' weight-loss jabs unless under specialist care, experts have warned.
Macmillan Cancer Support said there had been a surge in people asking about the drugs, such as Wegovy and Mounjaro, but that there was not enough evidence about how they might affect cancer treatment.
It said there was already evidence the injections may affect how other medicines are absorbed by the body, and that this could include cancer drugs.
The manufacturers acknowledge the weight-loss jabs may affect the absorption of other drugs.
The contraceptive pill and hormone replacement therapy (HRT) are among treatments experts have said are affected when taken orally.
It is thought the mechanism by which the drugs make a person feel fuller and reduce their appetite – called delayed gastric emptying – also slows down the rate at which medicines are absorbed by the gut.
Dr Owen Carter, national clinical adviser at Macmillan Cancer Support, said there had been 'a noticeable increase in calls to Macmillan's free support line and a flurry of messages on our peer-to-peer online community about weight-loss drugs'.
'We know that cancer affects everybody differently and it's understandable that lots of people are interested in new drugs which accelerate weight loss, particularly if they want to manage their weight before or after treatment for cancer,' he said.
'While 'quick fixes' may seem attractive, we simply do not know enough about the long-term impact of these weight-loss medications to recommend them if they're not prescribed by a specialist.'
He also said that 'certain weight-loss medications carry warnings about a potential link with thyroid cancer'.
He added that 'eating well and staying as active as possible are proven to help people feel better, increase their energy levels and strengthen their immune systems, which can help them to manage their weight and cope better with cancer treatment'.
Weight-loss drugs have been available on the NHS to a select few patients via specialist weight management clinics.
The majority of the estimated 1.5 million people taking the drugs in the UK are accessing them privately for around £200 a month, often from online pharmacies.
Later this month, GPs will be able to prescribe one of the drugs, Mounjaro, to obese patients.
Last week, Prof Sir Stephen Powis, the NHS England national medical director, said they could be as transformative as statins.
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