Prophylactic oophorectomy cuts ca risk by 75%: procedure tied to lower risk of ovarian and breast cancer in BRCA mutation carriers. (First Prospective Study).

ORLANDO, FLA. -- Women at increased risk for breast and ovarian cancer due to BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations can decrease that risk by 75% through prophylactic oophorectomy, according to results of the first prospective follow-up study to evaluate the procedure.

Previous case-control studies have suggested that risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy is associated with a decreased incidence of both breast and ovarian cancer in BRCA mutation carriers, but this is the first prospective series to do so, Dr. Kenneth Offit said at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

Of 101 women with BRCA mutations who underwent the preventive surgery, which included removal of the fallopian tubes and ovaries, 3 developed breast cancer, and 1 developed primary peritoneal cancer in the 2 years following the surgery

Additionally three unsuspected cases of early-stage ovarian cancer were detected in the group of patients who underwent surgery, highlighting the inadequacy of current ovarian cancer screening methods, said Dr. Offit, chief of the Clinical Genetics Service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York.

Of 72 women who chose to undergo intensive surveillance rather than the surgery, 8 developed breast cancer, 4 developed ovarian cancer, and 1 developed peritoneal cancer during follow-up. Intensive ...