Conquer Cancer, the ASCO Foundation shared a post on LinkedIn:
“Weight gain and metabolic shifts are highly common challenges after a breast cancer diagnosis, and can be triggered by cancer therapies themselves, changes in basal metabolism, changes in physical activity and diet, and the sudden overwhelming disruptions to a patient’s daily routine.
Beyond everyday quality of life, underlying metabolic dysfunction and obesity are clinically linked to poorer overall health outcomes in cancer survivors, including an elevated risk of developing serious chronic conditions like type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
At the 2026 ASCO Annual Meeting, Dr. Jasmine Sukumar shared findings from a large real-world study of over 137,000 breast cancer survivors, examining the impact of GLP-1 receptor agonists – which are widely used for type 2 diabetes and weight loss in adults -in non-metastatic breast cancer patients.
The study of more than 137,000 breast cancer patients revealed that those who received these medications experienced with a significantly higher 5-year overall survival rate compared to matched patients who did not (95.8% vs. 89.5%), offering early evidence for proactively managing metabolic health alongside standard of care.
This work builds on Dr. Sukumar’s early career grants supported by Conquer Cancer. Her Young Investigator Award helped launch a research program that has since expanded through career development support from Conquer Cancer/Breast Cancer Research Foundation, the Robert A. Winn Excellence in Clinical Trials Program, and the NIH. Today, her lab leads studies to advance personalized lifestyle interventions in metabolic health and breast cancer across the care continuum.
Read the full profile on how Dr. Sukumar is advancing metabolic health and lifestyle interventions in cancer care.”
Title: Weight Loss Patterns and Clinical Outcomes of GLP1 Receptor Agonists in Breast Cancer Survivors
Authors: Jasmine S Sukumar, Akshara S Raghavendra, Sarah Pasyar, Roland L Bassett, Debu Tripathy, Carlos H Barcenas, Karen M Basen-Engquist, Banu K Arun
Other articles of Conquer Cancer, the ASCO Foundation on OncoDaily.
