A scoping review of preoperative weight loss interventions on postoperative outcomes for patients with gastrointestinal cancer.

Background: Obesity is associated with increased risk of surgical complications in some settings.

Objective: As a precursor to a systematic review, we conducted a scoping review of intentional preoperative weight loss to describe these interventions, their feasibility and effectiveness for patients with gastrointestinal cancer.

Methods: In April 2024, Ovid MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, and Google Scholar were searched for primary studies of intentional weight loss before elective gastrointestinal cancer surgery.