Weight-loss Surgery Lowers Cancer Risk In Obese Patients

Here is a reason to rejoice for obese patients who underwent weight-loss surgery. A new study on Wednesday revealed that obese patients who undergo weight-loss surgery significantly reduce their risk of cancer. The study provides fresh evidence that the gastric bypass surgery have more benefits than just helping the extremely overweighed people shed pounds.

The study by researchers at McGill University in Montreal suggest Gastric Bypass S Surgery (GPS) - a treatment for obesity already known to reduce heart disease and diabetes in obese people, may lower the chances of getting cancer.

The findings, presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery in Washington D.C. on Wednesday, allege that gastric bypass surgery may also reduce obese people’s chance of cancer by as much as 80 percent.

In their research, the experts found that people who underwent bariatric surgery saw reductions particularly in the risk for breast and colon cancer. People generally see significant weight loss after such surgery.

"The evidence is mounting that weight loss through weight-loss surgery, if you are extremely obese, is extremely beneficial both to your health as well as to your quality of life," said Dr. Christou.

To reach their findings, the research team, led by Dr. Nicolas Christou, director of bariatric surgery and professor of surgery at McGill, tracked 1,035 patients who had bariatric surgery at McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) from the mid-1980s to 2002. They also monitored 5,746 obese patients who matched the surgery group in age, sex and weight but did not undergo the operation.

After analyzing the data, the researchers found that incidence of two of the most common tumors, breast and colon, were reduced by 85 percent and 70 percent respectively in people who underwent bariatric surgery.

Besides reducing the incidence of breast cancer and colon cancer, those who did undergo bariatric surgery also witnessed reductions in the risk for pancreatic cancer, skin cancer, uterine cancer and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, the researchers said.

"The relationship between obesity and many forms of cancer is well established," said Dr. Christou. "This is one of the first studies to suggest that bariatric surgery might prevent the risk of cancer for a significant percentage of morbidly obese people."

Gastric bypass surgery (GBS) is a group of analogous operative procedures used to treat morose chubbiness, a condition which arises from severe gathering of surplus weight as fatty tissue, and the follow-on health problems which occur. Bariatric surgery is the surgical treatment of morbid obesity, and includes the gastric bypass procedures as one of numerous classes of operations.

"Bariatric surgery is an extremely efficient tool in the treatment of morbid obesity and its consequences, and the MUHC is one of Canada's leaders in this field." Dr. Christou said. "We're hoping that these results will help the government and public health authorities realize the importance of this procedure in the fight against the various pathologies associated with obesity."

An estimated 205,000 Americans underwent gastric surgery last year, up from 23,100 in 1997, according to the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, and the number is expected to rise by 5 percent this year.