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MONDAY, Oct. 12, 2020 (HealthDay News)<\/p>\n
Weight-loss surgery significantly reduces the risk of pancreatic cancer<\/a> in obese<\/a> people with diabetes<\/a>, a new study finds.<\/p>\n For the study, the researchers analyzed 20 years of data from 1.4 million people, including more than 10,000 who’d had weight-loss surgery. About three-quarters of those who had weight-loss surgery were women.<\/p>\n People who’d had weight-loss surgery were less likely to develop pancreatic cancer<\/a> than those who hadn’t had the surgery (0.19% versus 0.32%), the investigators found.<\/p>\n “Obesity<\/a> and diabetes<\/a> are well-known risk factors for pancreatic cancer<\/a> via chronic inflammation, excess hormones and growth factors released by body fat,” said study author Dr. Aslam Syed, of the division of gastroenterology at Allegheny Health Network, in Pittsburgh, Pa.<\/p>\n “Previously, bariatric [weight-loss] surgery has been shown to improve high blood sugar<\/a> levels in diabetic patients, and our research shows that this surgery is a viable way in reducing the risk of pancreatic cancer<\/a> in this growing, at-risk group,” Syed explained.<\/p>\n The findings were to be presented Monday at the United European Gastroenterology virtual meeting. Research presented at meetings should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.<\/p>\n The findings are particularly timely as rates of diabetes<\/a>, obesity<\/a> and pancreatic cancer<\/a> are on the rise, the study authors said in a meeting news release.<\/p>\n Preventing pancreatic cancer<\/a> is crucial because there haven’t been improvements in the survival of the disease for four decades, Syed added.<\/p>\n “The average survival time at diagnosis is particularly bleak for this silent killer, at just 4.6 months, with patients losing 98% of their healthy life expectancy. Only 3% of patients survive more than five years,” he said.<\/p>\n Syed said clinicians should consider weight-loss surgery in patients with metabolic disorders to help reduce the risk and burden of pancreatic cancer<\/a>.<\/p>\n Pancreatic cancer<\/a> is often called a silent killer because symptoms — which include pain<\/a> in the back or stomach, jaundice<\/a> and unexplained weight loss<\/a> — can be hard to identify, making early diagnosis difficult.<\/p>\n — Robert Preidt<\/p>\n ![\"MedicalNews\"](\"https:\/\/images.medicinenet.com\/images\/HealthDay\/healthday.png\")
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