People with bariatric surgery may have a lower risk of developing uterine cancer, Fox News reported with reference to Counsel and Heal.

In a new study published in the journal Gynecologic Oncology, researchers analyzed data from 7,431,858 patients in the University HealthSystem Consortium – a database that collects information from academic medical centers and affiliated hospitals throughout the United States. Within this sample, 103,797 people had undergone bariatric surgery and 44,345 had developed uterine cancer.

The researchers discovered that people who had undergone bariatric surgery had a 71 percent reduced risk of developing uterine cancer, compared to patients who had not undergone the weight-loss procedure. Furthermore, if patients maintained a normal weight after surgery, they were able to achieve up to an 81 percent reduced risk of developing uterine cancer, also known as endometrial cancer.

The researchers, from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center, suspect that obesity may be a risk factor for developing uterine cancer.