Weight-loss surgery is a safe option for patients with a history of cancer, according to a new study by researchers at the West Penn Bariatric Surgery Center, presented today at the 25th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS.)

Scientists have discovered a previously unknown molecular signaling pathway in body fat cells that normally acts to suppress harmful inflammation. Cellular stress caused by obesity, however, can override this protective function and convert the pathway into a trigger of chronic inflammation that raises the risk of insulin resistance, diabetes, and other metabolic disorders.