Bariatric Surgery Cuts Cancer Risk for Women

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New research is needed to understand the gender difference, Sjostrom said. "Mechanisms need to be studied separately in men and women. If the favorable effect in women is not mediated by weight loss or reduced energy intake, it must be mediated by something else," he said.

Andrew G. Renehan, from the Department of Surgery in the School of Cancer and Imaging Sciences at the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom, and author of an accompanying journal editorial, says this study together with data from other studies show that weight reduction through bariatric surgery is associated with cancer prevention.

"This study adds strength that the association between obesity and cancer risk is causal," Renehan said. "As the beneficial effects of weight reduction appear to favor women, there is a need to further research the mechanisms underpinning associations between body fat and cancer development."

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Renehan stated, "Obesity causes cancer, but the obesity epidemic is not abating and we now have proof that we can reverse the effect of obesity on cancer risk."

Another expert thinks bariatric surgery, although expensive, saves money in the long run.

"For those of us who have practiced bariatric surgery, this is no surprise," said Dr. Mitchell Roslin, chief of bariatric surgery at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. "We know if you get rid of excess fat a whole lot of things get better."

Bariatric surgery should not be seen as the treatment of last resort, Roslin said. "Seeing this as the treatment of last resort will wind up costing us more. We will be paying for years of diabetes, we will be paying for years of heart disease, we will be paying for years of cancer treatment," he said.

Dr. Len Lichtenfeld, deputy chief medical officer at the American Cancer Society, said avoiding obesity in the first place is the best way to reduce your risk of cancer.

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