Bariatric Surgery to Attack Obesity Shown to Prevent
Cancer in New Study
Other recent success with stomach-shrinking surgery
has been against type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and high
cholesterol
And
now add "Cancer" to Advertising by Hallmark in suburban Boston
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June 19, 2008 Many over-weight senior citizens
have closely watched the news unfold over the last few years extolling
the ability of bariatric stomach surgery to prevent such dreaded
conditions as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
They can now add and even worse condition to that list - cancer.
The latest study by Dr. Nicolas Christou of the
McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) and McGill University shows that
this surgery decreases the risk of developing cancer by up to 80
percent.
The point
often missed in the headlines is that obesity is the problem
and bariatric surgery, which reduces the stomachs capacity to a few
ounces, is just one of the ways to attack it. The real
news is that this surgery may be more successful at fighting obesity
long-term than many suspected.
This latest research compared 1,035 morbidly obese
patients who underwent bariatric surgery at the MUHC between 1986 and
2002 with 5,746 patients with the same weight profile who did not
undergo the operation.
The number of cancer diagnoses in first group was
85 percent lower for breast cancer and 70 percent lower for colon and
pancreatic cancers, and was also distinctly lower for several other
types of cancer.
"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 bariatric surgery might prevent the risk
of cancer for a significant percentage of morbidly obese people."
Successful bariatric surgery allows morbidly obese
patients to lose up to 70 percent of their excess weight and to maintain
weight loss, according to the researchers.
Dr. Christou presented his preliminary results
yesterday at the 25th Annual Meeting of the American Society for
Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery.
Obesity affects the body in multiple ways, so a
single hypothesis cannot fully explain these results, say the
researchers. However, excess body fat is widely thought to be
responsible for increased hormone production, a major risk factor for
breast and colon cancer.
Thus so modifications to the patient's hormonal
metabolism due to weight loss might explain the lower incidence of these
cancers in patients who underwent surgery.
"Bariatric surgery is an extremely efficient tool
in the treatment of morbid obesity and its consequences, and the MUHC is
one of Canada's leaders in this field." Dr. Christou said.
"We're hoping that these results will help the
government and public health authorities realize the importance of this
procedure in the fight against the various pathologies associated with
obesity."
Certainly one of the reasons many senior citizens
watch the results of this surgery closely is that it is an approved
procedure for Medicare coverage.
Dr. Nicolas Christou is Director of Bariatric
Surgery at the MUHC and a researcher in the Infection and Immunity Axis
at the Research Institute of the MUHC. He is also Professor of Surgery
at the Faculty of Medicine at McGill University.
Facts About Bariatric Surgery
by
American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery
Overview
●
Bariatric surgery, or weight loss surgery, limits the amount of food the
stomach can hold by surgically reducing the stomachs capacity to a few
ounces. In addition to reducing food intake, some weight loss surgeries
alter the digestion process, which curbs the amount of calories and
nutrients absorbed
●
Primary types of bariatric surgery include: laparoscopic and open
gastric bypass surgery, laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding and
duodenal switch
●
Appropriate candidates have a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or more, or a
BMI of 35 or more with an obesity-related disease, such as type 2
diabetes, heart disease or sleep apnea
●
In 2007, an estimated 205,000 people with morbid obesity in the U.S.
will have bariatric surgery
●
About 15 million people in the U.S. have morbid obesity; only 1% of the
clinically eligible population is being treated for morbid obesity
through bariatric surgery
Impact on Obesity-Related Diseases
●
A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)
in October 2004 of 22,000 bariatric surgery patients showed improvements
in the following obesity-related conditions:
● Type 2 diabetes eliminated in 76.8% of patients; 86%
eliminated or improved
● Hypertension eliminated in 61.7% patients and resolved or
improved 78.5%
● Obstructive sleep apnea or sleep-disordered breathing
eliminated in 85.7% of patients
● High cholesterol levels or hyperlipidemia decreased in more
than 70% of patients
● Average weight loss was 61.2 % for all patients
Risks
●
A study published in JAMA in October 2004, showed 0.1% mortality for
laparoscopic adjustable gastric band (LAGB) patients, 0.5% mortality for
gastric bypass patients and 1% mortality for biliopancreatic diversion
(BPD) and duodenal switch (DS) patients
●
The national in-patient death rate associated with bariatric surgery
declined from 0.89% to 0.19% between 1998 and 2004, according to the
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
Effectiveness
●
Clinical studies show most bariatric surgery patients lose weight
quickly and continue to lose weight 18 to 24 months after the procedure
●
Patients may lose 30 to 50% of their excess weight in the first six
months and 77% of excess weight as early as 12 months after surgery.
Another study showed that patients can maintain a 50-60% loss of excess
weight 10-14 years after weight loss surgery
