In June 2022, the results of the SPLENDID (Surgical Procedures and Long-term Effectiveness in Neoplastic Disease Incidence and Death) study were published in JAMA (one of the most authoritative medical journals), coordinated by Ali Alimian at the Cleveland Clinic in the USA.

The study wanted to understand whether bariatric surgery influenced the development of tumors, and assuming that there was an influence, whether it reduced or increased their number (Association of Bariatric Surgery With Cancer Risk and Mortality in Adults With Obesity. Ali Aminian, MD, et al. JAMA.10.1001/jama.2022.9009 Published online June 3, 2022).

The study was conducted on more than 30,000 adult subjects suffering from obesity and observed between 2004 and 2017: 5,053 underwent bariatric surgery and 25,265 were treated with non-surgical therapy.

In the non-operated group, more tumors were observed over the years than in the operated group (4.9% versus 2.9%, with a statistically significant difference), and cancer mortality was almost halved in the group of patients undergoing bariatric surgery .

The significance of the study is that in adult subjects suffering from obesity, those who undergo bariatric surgery, in addition to losing weight and reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease (heart attacks, strokes), also have a lower risk of getting cancer and dying due to the tumor.