Weight loss surgery reduces risk of uterine cancer, study reveals

Weight loss surgery such as bariatric surgery can help improve obesity-related medical conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease, improving the overall health of a person. Besides these great health benefits, a new study reveals that it can also help prevent the development of the most common cancer in women, the endometrial or uterine cancer.

Eureka Alert reports that based on a study headed by Dr. Susan C. Modesitt from the University of Virginia Cancer Center, weight loss surgery did not only reduce the weight of women by a third but it also removed precancerous tumor growths in the uterus. Furthermore, the quality of life was improved through the improvement of insulin levels in the blood and altering the composition of bacteria in the stomach.

Dr. Modesitt explains that out of all the obesity-related cancers, endometrial cancer is the most common, followed by colon cancer, breast cancer, renal cancer and gall bladder cancer. She adds that if only American women have normal body weight, then a fifth of cancer deaths could have been prevented.

To identify the effects of weight loss surgery, the team gathered more than 70 women not older than 45 years and exhibiting an average BMI of 50.9, making them morbidly obese with a 100-lb excess on top of a woman's desirable body weight, UPI writes.

After undergoing surgery, 68 of the women experienced significant weight loss, the largest being 100 pounds. Incidentally, 10 percent of the women who showed precancerous changes in their uterus and had not undergone any hysterectomy; had their problems resolved.

Another surprising discovery was how the gut microbiome had been altered and although the researchers are still unsure as to how to link this with obesity and cancer, they believe it is an important discovery.

Dr. Peter T. Hallowell, the bariatric surgeon who operated on the participants, believes that the study will be able to help experts understand obesity better, NBC 29 News states. Dr. Hallowell feels that weight loss surgery can be the solution to many obesity-related diseases such as hypertension, sleep apnea and diabetes.

However, although Dr. Modesitt considers their study to be a breaking discovery for women's health, it still lacks evidence that bariatric surgery can reverse the complications exhibited and caused by cancer. She still feels that additional investigation should be done, especially about the impact of gut bacteria on cancer, diabetes and inflammation.

The study was published in the Gynecologic Oncology journal last Thursday, October 1st.