Bariatric surgery associated with decreased risk of hepatocellular carcinoma: Study

With the aim to determine whether bariatric surgery reduces the risk of HCC,a team of researchers under Daryl Ramai, from the Department of Internal Medicine, The Brooklyn Hospital Center, Brooklyn, NY,sought out this recent study.

For the study design,researchers performed a comprehensive literature search of major databases (from inception to November 2020) to identify studies which assess the incidence and risk of HCC following bariatric surgery. Pooled data were assessed using a random-effects model expressed in terms of odds ratio (OR), incidence rate ratio and 95% confidence interval (CI).

Results highlighted some interesting facts.

• Nine studies (two abstracts and seven full texts) were included for meta-analysis which involved 19 514 750 patients (18 423 546 controls and 1 091 204 bariatric patients).
• Pooled unadjusted odds ratio (OR) was 0.40 (95% CI: 0.28-0.57) which favoured bariatric surgery, though with high heterogeneity (I2: 79%).
• Using an adjusted model derived from matched cohorts (five studies) yielded an OR of 0.63 (95% CI: 0.53-0.75) with moderate heterogeneity (I2: 38%).
• The pooled rate/1000 person-years was 0.05 (95% CI: 0.02-0.07) in bariatric surgery patients and 0.34 (95% CI: 0.20-0.49) in the control group with an incidence rate ratio of 0.28 (95% CI: 0.18-0.42).

For full article follow the link: https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.16335

Primary source: Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics