High cancer risk? Seek preventative surgery, study says

By Brandie Umar - Executive Director of Content | September 2nd, 2010

Identifying women who fall into the "high risk" category for breast cancer and ovarian cancer is as simple as a genetic test to ascertain if they are a carrier of a faulty BRCA gene. Mutations in the BRCA gene are the main trigger for cancer in over 70% of breast and ovarian cancer cases. A leading study published in the latest edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests that once diagnosed with a mutation of the BRCA gene, women should be advised in favor of preventative surgery. Preventative surgery - the removal of the breasts (mastectomy) or of healthy ovaries - could significantly decrease the risk of cancer development according to research conducted on 2,500 women.

Breast cancer affects 10% of women worldwide. In most cases, removal of the breast tissue in the affected breast is only the initial phase to treatment. The majority of women diagnosed with breast cancer subsequently undergo chemotherapy and radiation treatment to prevent the tumor returning. Of the women in the study who had their breast removed on diagnosis of a BRCA genetic mutation, none developed breast cancer. Women who choose to undergo a mastectomy who choose to reconstruct their breasts using breast implants are at no greater risk of developing cancer. Whether or not a woman chooses to remove her breasts as a preventative measure if carrying the faulty gene, once a BRCA mutation is diagnosed enhanced breast screening is routine. The study did not provide any information as to the risk of developing breast cancer for males.

While the benefits of removing healthy ovaries were clear from the study with a 5% reduced risk of developing ovarian cancer for women who underwent preventative surgery, removing healthy ovaries can lead to further complications for women who are under the age of menopause who are yet to have children. While infertility specialists are able to remove and freeze eggs for later use in

IVF, many women may not want to undergo IVF if removing the ovaries is a preventative measure only. Using frozen eggs for IVF treatment does not reduce the success rate of IVF and as the risk of ovarian cancer development was shown to be significantly reduced, it is likely that following on from this study, removal of the ovaries for women with BRCA mutations will become a recommended procedure. Removing the ovaries also had an impact on the development of breast cancer with an 8% reduced rate in breast cancer development for women who underwent ovary removal.