Patients who receive bariatric surgery have a 25 percent lower risk of developing any type of cancer, according to a study published Aug. 22 in the Obesity Research Journal.
Specifically for women, bariatric surgery also significantly lowered their overall mortality rate, and they also had a 41 percent lower risk for obesity-related cancers.
"Of clinical importance, this study reports significantly reduced incidence of postmenopausal and premenopausal breast cancer following bariatric surgery, suggesting weight loss in females with severe obesity may beneficially lower incidence for both postmenopausal and premenopausal breast cancer," researchers wrote.
They hope that the findings support future research efforts aimed at discovering nonsurgical cancer prevention treatments.