Mar 24, 2014 12:36 AM EDT By Jaleesa Baulkman, UniversityHerald Reporter

Bariatric surgery in severely obese women may significantly reduce the risk of uterine cancer, according to a recent study Consumer Affairs reported.

Researchers from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center report that bariatric surgery resulting in dramatic weight loss in formerly severely obese women reduces the risk of uterine cancer by 71 percent and as much as 81 percent if normal weight is maintained after surgery, Consumer Affairs reported.

Obesity is a widespread public health problem in the United States, about two-thirds of the U.S. adult population is considered to be overweight or obese. The condition is strongly linked to a host of health risks, among them heart disease, diabetes and cancer, in particular uterine cancer. Typically, bariatric surgery involves reducing the size of the stomach using a constrictive gastric band, removing a portion of the stomach or resecting and re-routing the small intestines to a small stomach pouch.

"Estimating from various studies that looked at increasing [body mass index] and endometrial cancer risk, a woman with a Body Mass Index of 40 would have approximately eight times greater risk of endometrial cancer than someone with a BMI of 25," Kristy Ward, first author and senior gynecologic oncology fellow in the Department of Reproductive Medicine at UC San Diego School of Medicine, said in a statement. "This risk likely continues to go up as BMI goes up."

Their findings, published in the April issue of Gynecologic Oncology, are based on a retrospective cohort study of 7,431,858 patients in the University HealthSystem Consortium database, which contains information from contributing academic medical centers in the United States and affiliated hospitals. Of this total, 103,797 patients had a history of bariatric surgery and 44,345 had a diagnosis of uterine malignancy.

"The obesity epidemic is a complicated problem," Ward said."Further work is needed to define the role of bariatric surgery in cancer care and prevention, but we know that women with endometrial cancer are more likely to die of cardiovascular causes than they are of endometrial cancer. It's clear that patients who are overweight and obese should be counseled about weight loss, and referral to a bariatric program should be considered in patients who meet criteria."

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