According to a recent study Health Day News apart from helping the obese people shed extra pounds, weight-loss surgery may also lower their chances of a cancer diagnosis.
Bariatric surgery reduces the risk of cancer to rates almost similar to those of people of normal weight, say the researchers from the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil.
According to Doctor Cy Stein, chair of medical oncology and experimental therapeutics at the City of Hope Medical Center,“There is an association between obesity and cancer. It is a risk factor for cancer development .The evidence that obesity is related to an increased risk of cancer is significant, even in the modestly obese.”
The researchers looked at 13 studies that encompassed 54,000 individuals and focused on cancer rates after weight loss surgery.Further Health Day reported that according to the American Health Society about one in three cancer deaths are linked to excess weight, inactivity, and poor eating habits.
Researchers are not sure of exactly what causes the link between cancer and obesity. Lauren Teras, director of hematologic cancer research at the American Cancer Society, told HealthDay, “I would say overall the evidence appears to show there is a reduction in risk, it’s just hard to say for certain.”
She further added, “I think there is some good evidence that hormones play a role,”
The largest source of estrogen after menopause is the fat tissue, and it contributes to estrogen-related cancers.
According to Stein, it is not certain that obesity causes cancer but it may promote it.
Teras told HealthDay, “Weight-loss surgery, like any surgery, is not without risks. The risks and benefits should be weighed with a person’s individual doctor.”
