He YF, Wang HZ, Bian N, Hu XD, He QT, Liu JQ, Li HM, Lu SF, Wu N. Correlation between bariatric surgery and breast cancer risk in women: A systematic review and meta-analysis. World J Clin Oncol 2026; 17(3): 114774 [DOI: 10.5306/wjco.v17.i3.114774]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Yan-Fei He, MD, Associate Chief Physician, Health Management Center, The Sixth Medical Center, Chinese PLA General Hospital, No. 6 Fucheng Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100048, China. heyanfeilc@163.com
Research Domain of This Article
Oncology
Article-Type of This Article
Meta-Analysis
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This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Mar 24, 2026 (publication date) through Mar 26, 2026
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Journal Information of This Article
Publication Name
World Journal of Clinical Oncology
ISSN
2218-4333
Publisher of This Article
Baishideng Publishing Group Inc, 7041 Koll Center Parkway, Suite 160, Pleasanton, CA 94566, USA
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He YF, Wang HZ, Bian N, Hu XD, He QT, Liu JQ, Li HM, Lu SF, Wu N. Correlation between bariatric surgery and breast cancer risk in women: A systematic review and meta-analysis. World J Clin Oncol 2026; 17(3): 114774 [DOI: 10.5306/wjco.v17.i3.114774]
World J Clin Oncol. Mar 24, 2026; 17(3): 114774 Published online Mar 24, 2026. doi: 10.5306/wjco.v17.i3.114774
Correlation between bariatric surgery and breast cancer risk in women: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Yan-Fei He, Huan-Zhi Wang, Ning Bian, Xiao-Dong Hu, Qin-Tong He, Jun-Qiang Liu, Hu-Ming Li, Shuang-Feng Lu, Ni Wu
Yan-Fei He, Ning Bian, Shuang-Feng Lu, Ni Wu, Health Management Center, The Sixth Medical Center, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100048, China
Huan-Zhi Wang, College of Atmospheric Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, Gansu Province, China
Xiao-Dong Hu, Department of Endocrinology, The Sixth Medical Center, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100048, China
Qin-Tong He, School of Public Health and Health Sciences, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin 301617, China
Jun-Qiang Liu, Department of Thoracic Surgery, The Sixth Medical Center, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100048, China
Hu-Ming Li, Department of Respiratory Medicine, The Sixth Medical Center, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100048, China
Co-first authors: Yan-Fei He and Huan-Zhi Wang.
Author contributions: He YF designed the study, reviewed the literature, and wrote the initial manuscript; Wang HZ performed the statistical analysis; Bian N retrieved and summarized the literature; He YF and Wang HZ contributed equally to this manuscript as co-first authors; Hu XD, Lu SF, and He QT provided advice on the review and reviewed the final manuscript; Liu JQ, Li HM and Wu N collected and analyzed relevant data for the article during the revision process. All authors contributed to the article and approved the final version.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
PRISMA 2009 Checklist statement: The authors have read the PRISMA 2009 Checklist, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the PRISMA 2009 Checklist.
Corresponding author: Yan-Fei He, MD, Associate Chief Physician, Health Management Center, The Sixth Medical Center, Chinese PLA General Hospital, No. 6 Fucheng Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100048, China. heyanfeilc@163.com
Received: September 28, 2025 Revised: November 30, 2025 Accepted: February 2, 2026 Published online: March 24, 2026 Processing time: 176 Days and 18.8 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Obesity is a well-established risk factor for breast cancer. Although bariatric surgery is an effective intervention for long-term weight management and metabolic improvement, its impact on breast cancer incidence remains unclear. Our systematic review and meta-analysis of 17 observational studies indicates that bariatric surgery is associated with an overall reduced risk of breast cancer in obese women. This protective effect was observed in both premenopausal and postmenopausal women, though it was more pronounced in the latter group. However, the observational design precludes establishing causality. An observed increased risk of stage I cancer requires cautious interpretation. These findings offer a new perspective on the potential role of bariatric surgery in reducing breast cancer risk.
