Bariatric Surgery Linked to Lower Obesity-Related Cancer Risk Regardless of Age or Sex
Key Takeaways:
- A large Nordic registry study of more than 780,000 people with obesity found that those who underwent bariatric surgery had an approximately 20% lower risk of developing obesity-related cancer than people with obesity who did not have surgery.
- The reduction in cancer risk was similar across age groups and between women and men, which suggests the benefits extend to a broad range of patients.
- The largest risk reductions were seen for liver, endometrial and ovarian cancers.
Bariatric surgery and cancer prevention
Bariatric surgery reduces the risk of obesity-related cancer regardless of a person’s sex or age, according to a large Nordic registry study led by researchers at Karolinska Institutet. The findings, published in JAMA Surgery, add to the growing evidence on the cancer-preventive effects of bariatric surgery for several cancers linked to obesity.
Why this research matters
Several cancers associated with obesity, particularly gastrointestinal cancers, are becoming more common in Western populations. Previous research had suggested that obesity surgery lowers the risk of obesity-related cancers. However, this association appeared stronger among women, and findings for several individual types of gastrointestinal cancer had been inconsistent.
Whether the cancer-preventive effects of obesity surgery vary according to a person’s age at the time of surgery had also remained largely unexplored. This study set out to address these gaps.
How the study was carried out
In this large Nordic registry-based cohort study, researchers at Karolinska Institutet and collaborating institutions examined how obesity surgery affects the risk of obesity-related cancers. They also investigated whether this association differs depending on age at surgery, or between women and men.
The study included more than 780,000 people with obesity in Sweden, Denmark and Finland. Of these, nearly 100,000 had undergone obesity surgery.
A 20% lower risk of obesity-related cancer
The researchers found that people who underwent surgery had an approximately 20% lower risk of developing obesity-related cancer compared with people with obesity who did not have surgery.
“We found that the reduction in cancer risk after obesity surgery was similar across age groups and between women and men, suggesting that the long-term health benefits of surgery extend to a broad range of patients,” says Cecilia Radkiewicz, a researcher at the Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, Karolinska Institutet, and first author of the study.
Liver, endometrial and ovarian cancers showed the largest reductions
The greatest reductions in risk were observed for liver, endometrial and ovarian cancers.
The results showed no evidence that the cancer-preventive effect of surgery differed between people who had surgery at a younger age and those who had it at an older age. For cancers that occur in both women and men, there were also no differences between the sexes.
Implications for obesity care
The results suggest that the long-term cancer-preventive benefits of obesity surgery extend to a broad range of patients, and they underline the value of effective obesity treatment for long-term health.
For healthcare professionals, findings like these reinforce the importance of understanding the full range of health risks associated with obesity and the treatment options available to people living with it. The College of Contemporary Health’s Obesity Essentials course is designed to help clinicians build their knowledge and confidence in supporting people living with obesity, including how to approach conversations about treatment and long-term health.
CCH insight
This study highlights how effective obesity treatment can have far-reaching benefits, including a lower risk of several obesity-related cancers. If you support people living with obesity in your practice, our Obesity Essentials CPD course can help you strengthen your understanding of obesity management and the conversations that matter most to your patients.
Source: JAMA Surgery
