Weight loss after bariatric surgery in cancer survivors

Background: With improved methods of identification and treatment, the numbers of cancer survivors are increasing. Weight loss is encouraged to reduce recurrence. After cancer treatment, will survivors respond to weight change and receive the benefits of bariatric surgery?

Objective: To compare weight loss after bariatric surgery of patients treated for cancer with those never diagnosed with cancer.

Setting: The 10 surgical centers participating in the Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery (LABS2).

Methods: A retrospective review of the LABS database of 2458 participants was completed to determine which patients had answered the question that they had been told they had cancer with a positive response. Cancer survivors were compared for body mass index (calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared) at baseline and 1, 3, 5, and 7 years after bariatric surgery with those who responded negatively to this question. Descriptive statistics, Fisher's exact tests, 2-sample independent t tests, Wilcoxon rank sum tests, and multiple linear regression were used.

Results: Groups were significantly different in age (P < .0001) and surgery type (P = .02). Other demographic and clinical comparisons were nonsignificant at the .05 significance level. Cancer survivors demonstrated less weight loss at 1 year (P = .0001). Over 7 years, there was no significant difference between the 2 groups. Adjusting for age, sex, baseline body mass index, and surgery type, cancer history was not found to be significant predictor of body mass index change 1-year postbariatric surgery.

Conclusions: Patients treated for cancer are not different than the general population in their capacity for long-term weight loss with surgical assistance.