Weight loss surgery can reduce risk of skin cancer: Study
Thursday - May 24, 2018 4:04 pm ,
Category : HEALTH
London May 24 (IANS) Bariatric surgery a weight loss operation is associated with a 61 per cent decrease in the risk of developing malignant skin cancer according to a study.
Melanoma is a deadly form of skin cancer most closely associated with excessive sun exposure. Obesity is an established risk factor for cancer and some studies indicate that intentional weight loss sometimes reduces the risk.
However evidence for a link between obesity weight loss and malignant melanoma is limited.
The new findings showed that bariatric surgery led to a 42 per cent reduced risk of skin cancer in general compared to controls given usual obesity care.
The study "supports the idea that obesity is a melanoma risk factor and indicates that weight loss in individuals with obesity can reduce the risk of bariatric surgery that has increased steadily in many countries over several decades" said lead author Magdalena Taube from the University of Gothenburg in Sweden.
The results were presented at the 2018 European Congress on Obesity in Vienna Austria.
The protective effect of bariatric surgery on skin cancer was observed in a group of 2 007 obese participants who were then followed for a median of 18 years.
These were compared with a control group consisting of 2 040 individuals who matched with the participants who underwent surgery on sex age anthropometric measurements cardiovascular risk factors psychosocial variables and personality traits.
To analyse malignant melanoma incidence statistical tests were used to compare time to first melanoma cancer diagnosis between the surgery and control groups.
In additional analyses risk ratios between the surgery and control groups were compared.
--IANS rt/and/soni/
Melanoma is a deadly form of skin cancer most closely associated with excessive sun exposure. Obesity is an established risk factor for cancer and some studies indicate that intentional weight loss sometimes reduces the risk.
However evidence for a link between obesity weight loss and malignant melanoma is limited.
The new findings showed that bariatric surgery led to a 42 per cent reduced risk of skin cancer in general compared to controls given usual obesity care.
The study "supports the idea that obesity is a melanoma risk factor and indicates that weight loss in individuals with obesity can reduce the risk of bariatric surgery that has increased steadily in many countries over several decades" said lead author Magdalena Taube from the University of Gothenburg in Sweden.
The results were presented at the 2018 European Congress on Obesity in Vienna Austria.
The protective effect of bariatric surgery on skin cancer was observed in a group of 2 007 obese participants who were then followed for a median of 18 years.
These were compared with a control group consisting of 2 040 individuals who matched with the participants who underwent surgery on sex age anthropometric measurements cardiovascular risk factors psychosocial variables and personality traits.
To analyse malignant melanoma incidence statistical tests were used to compare time to first melanoma cancer diagnosis between the surgery and control groups.
In additional analyses risk ratios between the surgery and control groups were compared.
--IANS rt/and/soni/
