Gastric bands may reduce cancer risk
Reported June 20, 2008
Obese women who have weight loss surgery dramatically reduce their chances of getting cancer, a major new study shows.
The procedures include gastric band surgery, which the television presenter Fern Britton admitted earlier this month is behind her recent weight loss.
Researchers found that having the surgery can reduce the likelihood of being diagnosed with some cancers by up to 80 per cent.
Obesity is known to raise the risk of developing many types of cancer, including breast, colon, and kidney cancer, as well as other diseases like diabetes.
The study looked at 1,035 morbidly obese patients who underwent weight loss surgery between 1986 and 2002, and compared their health with almost 6,000 who did not.
Patients who had the operation lost up to 70 per cent of their excess weight and were also much less likely to be subsequently diagnosed with cancer, the research shows.
Those who had the surgery were 85 per cent less likely to develop breast cancer, the most common form of the disease in women, and 70 per cent less likely to be diagnosed with colon or pancreatic cancer.
Dr. Nicolas Christou, from McGill University Health Centre, in Montreal, Canada, who led the study, which was presented at the 25th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery earlier this week, said that the study showed that the surgery could reduce the risks for many patients.
“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 (weight loss) surgery might prevent the risk of cancer for a significant percentage of morbidly obese people.”
Dr Christou said that because obesity affects the body in many ways there was no single reason why the surgery cut the risk of cancer.
However, he pointed to research which suggests that excess body fat increases hormone production, a major risk factor for breast and colon cancer.
Obesity is measured using the body mass index (BMI), which calculates a person’s weight in comparison to their height.
A BMI of between 20 and 25 is considered as normal weight, while people classed as morbidly obese have a BMI of more than 40.