Survival Benefits of GLP-1 Receptor Agonists in Patients with Neuroendocrine Neoplasms: A Large-Scale Propensity-Matched Cohort Study
<b>Background:</b> Neuroendocrine neoplasms (NENs) represent a heterogeneous group of malignancies that consist of two major subtypes: neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) and neuroendocrine carcinomas (NECs). Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1Ra) have demonstrated favorable results in preclinical studies, but their impact on NEN outcomes remains unexplored. <b>Methods:</b> Using the TriNetX US Research Network, we identified adult patients with NEN and either diabetes or obesity. After 1:1 propensity score matching based on demographics, comorbidities, procedures, and medication use, we compared survival outcomes between patients who received GLP-1Ra after NEN diagnosis and those who did not. <b>Results:</b> Among 32,464 eligible patients, 3139 received GLP-1Ra and 29,325 did not. After propensity matching, each cohort included 3043 patients with well-balanced baseline characteristics. During follow-up periods extending up to 15 years, all-cause mortality occurred in 356 (11.7%) GLP-1Ra users versus 753 (24.7%) non-users, representing a 13.0% absolute risk reduction (<i>p</i> < 0.001). GLP-1Ra use was associated with significantly improved survival (HR = 0.56, 95%CI = 0.49-0.63, <i>p</i> < 0.001). Both well-differentiated (HR = 0.52) and poorly differentiated tumors (HR = 0.56) showed significant improvement. Among primary sites, lung NENs demonstrated the most pronounced benefit (HR = 0.42). Tirzepatide showed the strongest association with reduced mortality (HR = 0.16), followed by semaglutide (HR = 0.27) and dulaglutide (HR = 0.52). <b>Results:</b> In this large propensity-matched study, GLP-1Ra use was associated with a 44.3% reduction in mortality risk among NEN patients with diabetes or obesity. The magnitude of the observed benefit suggests a potential role for GLP-1Ra as adjunctive therapy in this patient population. Prospective clinical trials are warranted to confirm these findings and explore underlying mechanisms.
Authors
- Awwad Alenezy (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7884-2246)
- Ahmed Abdelmaksoud (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7948-2676)
- Manal Said Fawzy (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1252-8403)
- Kristen E. Limbach (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2078-2025)
- Eman A. Toraih (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9267-3787)
- Jessan A. Jishu
- Ibrar Khan
- Ahmad Dessouky
Institutions
- University of California, Riverside (US)
- Suez Canal University (EG)
- Tulane University (US)
- Northern Border University (SA)
- SUNY Upstate Medical University (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Cancers
- Published
- 2025-05-07
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers17091593
- Citations
- 5
- Primary Topic
- Neuroendocrine Tumor Research Advances
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 6.77
Funders
- Northern Borders University