Summary

A retrospective cohort study in France assessed the effect of bariatric surgery on the incidence of oesophageal and gastric cancer. Patients with severe obesity who underwent bariatric surgery (n = 303,709) were matched with those who did not undergo surgery (n = 605,140). After follow-up, the cancer incidence rates were 6.9 per 100,000 population per year for the control group and 4.9 per 100,000 population per year for the surgical group — an incidence rate ratio of 1.42 (95% CI 1.11–1.82; P = 0.005).