Published on
Updated
Reading 2 mins.
Who says bariatric surgery, says weight loss. But not only ! According to a new study, this operation could more than halve the risk of obesity-related cancers. Update on these results with Dr Guillaume Pourcher, surgeon and head of the Obesity Center at the Institut mutualiste Montsouris.
According to the High Authority for Health, obesity surgery (or bariatric surgery) modifies the anatomy of the digestive system. It thus makes it possible to reduce the quantity of food consumed, and therefore to lose weight. But this technique would also reduce the risk of cancers associated with obesity. Explanations.
Only 4% of operated candidates developed cancer
If the majority of people associate bariatric surgery with weight loss, few think about its health benefits. And yet.
According to this study of 55,700 obese patients who underwent bariatric surgery (sleeve gastrectomy, gastric bypass, gastric banding procedures, etc.), only 4% of them developed cancer associated with obesity during of the follow-up period (10 years), against 8.9% among those who did not have recourse to the operation.
Additionally, the operated group consistently had fewer new cases of obesity-related cancers, including breast (501 vs. 751), colon (201 vs. 360), liver (969 vs. 2,198) , the pancreas (54 versus 751). 86), ovarian (130 vs 214) and thyroid (154 vs 175).
Fact, “This study proves that significant weight loss caused by bariatric surgery can have a protective effect against cancer formation.says Dr. Vibhu Chittajallu, lead author of the study and gastroenterology researcher at Case Western Reserve.
Nevertheless, he specifies that further research must be carried out in this direction to better understand the impact of this operation – and all the benefits that flow from it.
“Dfurther work is needed to understand how bariatric surgery affects cancer risk, although the significant results of this study suggest it is a promising start.”
NO to diets, YES to WW!
Bariatric surgery is a real “therapeutic tool”
For his part, Dr. Pourcher believes that this study “confirms the already existing data on this subject“.
“Bariatric surgery is a real “therapeutic tool” in the face of the disease. Indeed, when obesity is treated, many health problems improve, both physically and psychologically…“, assures the expert. “As for cancer, obesity is a known risk factor: obesity multiplies the risk of cancer by 10, especially that of the hormone-dependent breast. In fact, bariatric surgery can greatly reduce the mortality rate. These umpteenth results are proof of that.”believes the surgeon, who recalls that “Obesity surgery, still perceived, wrongly, as “comfort surgery”, should no longer be frightening. Only 5% of obese patients have surgery, while it saves lives.”