Removing Both Breasts Cuts Risk Of Cancer Over 89.5%.

2001 DEC 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A Mayo Clinic study shows that prophylactic removal of both breasts reduces the risk of a subsequent breast cancer by 89.5% to 100% in women known to be carriers of mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 susceptibility genes.

The study, published in the November 7, 2001, issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, followed 26 high-risk women identified with altered BRCA1 and BRCA2 breast cancer susceptibility genes. All of these women had previously undergone surgery to have their breasts removed. During the period of follow-up thus far - averaging 13.4 years - none of these women have developed breast cancer.

"Calculations predict that six to nine breast cancers should have developed in this group of carriers without prophylactic surgery," says Lynn Hartmann, MD, a Mayo Clinic oncologist and lead researcher on this study. "That translates into a risk reduction of 89.5-100% for bilateral prophylactic mastectomy."

This study is the latest in ongoing research at Mayo Clinic about prophylactic mastectomy and subsequent breast cancer risk. The original research group included 214 women with a strong family history of breast cancer who had previously had prophylactic mastectomy. Women in this surgical group ...