Reduction in Melanoma After Bariatric Surgery ? Really?

Source: Medscape, November 2019

Bariatric surgery and the weight loss that it induces are associated with a markedly reduced risk for skin cancer, including melanoma, according to a new analysis from the Swedish Obese Subjects (SOS) study.

In an earlier report from this study, Swedish researchers found that bariatric surgery was associated with a reduced risk for female-specific cancers, including breast, endometrial, ovarian, and all other gynecologic cancers.

Now, at a median follow-up of 18.1 years, the same research team has found that patients who underwent bariatric surgery had a 57% lower risk of developing melanoma and a 41% lower risk of developing squamous cell carcinoma compared to participants who received conventional obesity treatments.