Association of bariatric surgery with cancer risk and mortality in obese adults

Obesity increases the incidence and mortality from some types of cancer, but it is uncertain whether intentional weight loss can decrease this risk. The SPLENDID cohort study included adult patients with BMI 35 or greater who underwent bariatric surgery, matched 1:5 to patients who received usual care for obesity but did not undergo surgery. Cumulative incidence of obesity –associated cancer at 10 years follow-up was 2.9% in the surgery group versus 4.9% in the nonsurgical control group (aHR 0.68; p=0.002). Cumulative incidence of cancer-related mortality at 10 years was 0.8% versus 1.4% (aHR 0.52; p=0.01). The authors conclude that among adults with obesity, bariatric surgery compared with no surgery was associated with a significantly lower incidence of obesity-associated cancer and cancer-related mortality.