Bariatric surgery linked to higher colorectal cancer risk

Bariatric surgery doubles a patient’s risk for colorectal cancer, UK researchers reported in the British Journal of Surgery. Researchers studied a cohort of 8,794 patients who underwent gastric bypass, sleeve gastrectomy or gastric banding. However, bariatric surgery was also associated with a five-fold decrease in the risk of hormone-related cancers (breast, endometrium, and prostate).  The study did not show that bariatric surgery was associated with a reduced risk of esophageal cancer. Researchers concluded additional studies are needed before recommending more frequent colon cancer screening after bariatric surgery.

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