Does the Mini-Gastric Bypass Cause Cancer?
A concern raised by some, is the potential association of the Billroth II (BII) type connection used in the Mini-Gastric Bypass with stomach (gastric) cancer. There are some medical studies that seem to raise concerns about the relation between the Billroth II type connection and gastric cancer. A careful review shows that this is not a reasonable concern. A good and very well-done study looking at this question was published in the New England Journal by Schafer et. al. In this study performed by the Mayo Clinic studied residents of Minnesota, who had surgery for ulcers between 1935 to 1959. These patients were followed for over 5,635 person-years. They found gastric cancer in only two of the patients in the surgical group, as compared with an expected rate of 3 people. That is, they found that the rate of gastric cancer in the surgery patients was actually lower than that seen in unoperated patients. Many other studies of Billroth II patients have found no evidence of an increased in
