About this Research Topic

Background

Bariatric surgery became the treatment of choice for morbid obesity and its associated metabolic disorders and is being performed ever more increasingly worldwide. With the ongoing epidemic of obesity, the number of bariatric procedures is expected to increase steadily over the next decades.

The influence of obesity on the development of many tumor types (e.g. esophagogastric-junction cancer, NASH-related HCC, endometrial cancer) and impaired outcomes of patients with obesity after surgery are well documented. While bariatric surgery is a highly effective method to reduce the disease burden of obesity, it remains unclear how bariatric surgery and the subsequently altered body weight, metabolism and hormonal millieu influences tumor development, diagnosis and treatment outcomes. Recent studies have shown that bariatric surgery might reduce the incidence of certain tumor types, however, the underlying reasons remain poorly understood so far. In contrast, certain bariatric methods might also predispose to certain cancer types or hinder their diagnosis.

The goal of the current research topic is to address current and future challenges that arise in the setting of tumor development, diagnosis and treatment after bariatric surgery and enable increased insight on the assocation of bariatric surgery and oncological diseases. This topic is highly relevant for the future, as the number of patients undergoing baratric surgery is increasing ever more.

Areas to be covered in this research topic may include, but are not limited to:
1) Epidemiologic research on the influence of bariatric surgery on the incidence and prevalence of certain tumor types (e.g. increase in esophageal or gastric carcinoma? decrease of NASH-related HCC?).
2) Diagnostic challenges such as the influence of bariatric surgery on the prevention, screening & diagnosis of certain tumor types (e.g. impaired screening & diagnosis of gastric carcinoma after RYGB?).
3) Oncological factors governing the choice of bariatric surgical techniques, e.g. the role of bariatric procedure selection and the potential benefit of decreased risk of certain cancer types.
4) Therapeutic challenges and novel surgical techniques, e.g. reports of new techniques for tumor resection after bariatric surgery.
5) Influence of bariatric surgery on the medical treatment of certain tumor types (e.g. altered pharmacokinetics of chemotherapy or changes in response to immunotherapy after bariatric surgery)
6) Preclinical, translational and clinical research on the mechanism(s) by which bariatric surgery influences cancer, e.g. correlations between the postbariatric hormonal environment and different cancer types.

The scope of the current research topic covers promising, recent, and novel research in the overlapping clinical field of oncology, bariatric surgery as well as endocrinology, metabolism and nutrition.

Narrative reviews, retro- and prospective cohort studies, randomized controlled trials, systematic reviews and meta-analyses, large-scale epidemiologic studies, basic & translational research as well as descriptions of surgical techniques are kindly invited.

Keywords: bariatric surgery, metabolic surgery, obesity, surgical oncology, tumor surgery, cancer, cancer epidemiology, cancer treatment, eso-gastric cancer

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