Weight-loss surgery may counter genetic risk for developing breast cancer
In a recent study it has been found that women with a genetic predisposition for breast cancer were 2.5 times more likely to develop a malignancy than women with the same genetic risk who underwent bariatric or weight-loss surgery.
Incidence of breast cancer in women with severe obesity or a body mass index (BMI) of 35 or higher was found to be 18% while incidence for closely matched patients who had weight-loss surgery was 7.4%. The study also found that weight-loss surgery cut the overall risk of developing cancer linked to obesity by 20 %.
To understand the study well, researchers reviewed the data of 1,670,035 patients with a BMI of 35 or greater collected between 2010 and 2014 in the National Inpatient Sample (NIS), the largest all-payer inpatient healthcare database. The incidence of cancer was compared between more than 1.4 million patients who did not undergo bariatric surgery ( control group) and nearly 250,000 patients who did.
Study co-author said, our findings suggest bariatric surgery could significantly prevent the development of cancer in patients with a higher risk than the average population, even in those genetically predisposed.
The effect we saw on patients genetically predisposed to develop breast cancer was remarkable and wee believe this is the first time a study has shown such an impact. Further studies are needed to determine the factors, including weight loss, that may have led to such risk reduction, he added.
According to the American Cancer Society, having more fat tissue can increase the chances of getting breast cancer by raising estrogen levels. Overweight and obesity are associated with an increased risk of 13 types of cancer, which accounted for about 40 % of all cancer diagnosed in the US in 2014, according the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC).
The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) called obesity a major unrecognised risk factor for cancer that has also been associated with an increased risk of recurrence and mortality in patients with cancer.
Incidence of breast cancer in women with severe obesity or a body mass index (BMI) of 35 or higher was found to be 18% while incidence for closely matched patients who had weight-loss surgery was 7.4%. The study also found that weight-loss surgery cut the overall risk of developing cancer linked to obesity by 20 %.
To understand the study well, researchers reviewed the data of 1,670,035 patients with a BMI of 35 or greater collected between 2010 and 2014 in the National Inpatient Sample (NIS), the largest all-payer inpatient healthcare database. The incidence of cancer was compared between more than 1.4 million patients who did not undergo bariatric surgery ( control group) and nearly 250,000 patients who did.
Study co-author said, our findings suggest bariatric surgery could significantly prevent the development of cancer in patients with a higher risk than the average population, even in those genetically predisposed.
The effect we saw on patients genetically predisposed to develop breast cancer was remarkable and wee believe this is the first time a study has shown such an impact. Further studies are needed to determine the factors, including weight loss, that may have led to such risk reduction, he added.
According to the American Cancer Society, having more fat tissue can increase the chances of getting breast cancer by raising estrogen levels. Overweight and obesity are associated with an increased risk of 13 types of cancer, which accounted for about 40 % of all cancer diagnosed in the US in 2014, according the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC).
The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) called obesity a major unrecognised risk factor for cancer that has also been associated with an increased risk of recurrence and mortality in patients with cancer.