Bariatric surgery is associated with a distinct reduction in skin cancer risk, according to findings published by Taube et al in JAMA Dermatology. This finding further substantiates the connection between weight loss and malignant skin cancer.
“This [study] provides further evidence for a connection between obesity and malignant skin cancer, and for the view that we should regard obesity as a risk factor for these forms of cancer,” said first author Magdalena Taube, PhD, a researcher in molecular and clinical medicine at Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
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Methods
The current study used data from what is known as the SOS (Swedish Obese Subjects) study, which is led and coordinated from the University of Gothenburg. Other data sources included the Swedish Cancer Register kept by the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare.
The researchers studied a group of 2,007 people who underwent bariatric surgery and compared them with a control group of 2,040 individuals. The latter also had severe obesity but did not undergo bariatric surgery. Otherwise, in terms of sex, age, body composition, risk factors for cardiovascular disease, and psychosocial variables, the groups were comparable.
Findings
The surgery group included 23 individuals who developed malignant skin cancer (ie, squamous cell carcinoma or malignant melanoma) in parallel with marked weight loss. The corresponding figure for such cancer cases in the control group was 45, while this group remained at the severe obesity level. The median follow-up period was just over 18 years.
The largest difference related to malignant melanoma: 12 people in the surgery group were affected vs 29 in the control group. This shows a 57% fall in risk for malignant melanoma in the group who lost weight after bariatric surgery. The corresponding risk decrease for both cancer forms combined was 42%.
“In these contexts, it's a clear and striking change, …and that's why it's so interesting,” said Dr. Taube. “We can say this with certainty now, thanks to our having an extremely well-documented and described population that we've been able to monitor for a long time, and in which we can see very clearly what happens when a major, lasting weight loss takes place.”
Disclosure: For full disclosures of the study authors, visit jamanetwork.com.
