Posted - March 23, 2010

Bariatric Surgery May Reduce Cancer Risk in Obese Women

In addition to helping obese people lose a significant amount of weight, bariatric surgery may also help obese women reduce their risk for certain cancers, according to new research.

Dr. Susan C. Modesitt from University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville and colleagues evaluated the number and types of cancers in 1482 morbidly obese women who underwent bariatric surgery at the University of Virginia. The data they gathered was compared to cancer statistics from a control population of morbidly obese women who did not undergo surgery.

The study found that 53 of the bariatric surgery patients, 3.6% of the total group, developed invasive cancer. Most of those cases were diagnosed and treated before bariatric surgery, with only 17 women being diagnosed after bariatric surgery. On the other hand, 5.8% of morbidly obese women in the control group who had not undergone bariatric surgery were diagnosed with cancer. The study also found that obese women with cancer, regardless of bariatric surgery, were generally younger than the Virginia Cancer registry average age at diagnosis for virtually all cancers.

The study authors noted that, “Although not conclusive, the fact that most of our women with bariatric surgery were diagnosed before their operation and the fact that fewer bariatric patients were diagnosed with cancer compared with their obese counterparts may lend support to the hypothesis that bariatric surgery could be protective for obesity-related cancers.”


ATTENTION patients of Dr. Al-Kalla

Dr. Al-Kalla will be leaving Weight Loss Specialists of North Texas at the end of July. If you would like continue as his patient, please let us know and we can assist in getting your medical records transferred.

You may also choose to stay with Weight Loss Specialists of North Texas and we’ll gladly transfer your care to another provider on staff.

Thank you.