14 DAY TRIAL // A recently published study shows that women with BRCA1 and BRCA2 genetic mutations reduce their risk of breast and ovarian cancer significantly if they undergo preventive surgery.
This long-term research focused on women that had a genetic predisposition for breast or ovarian cancer, and concluded that those who chose major preventive surgery had seriously reduced their risk of developing those cancers.
The study was carried out by Gail Tomlinson, MD, PhD, interim director of the Greehey Children's Cancer Research Institute at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, and followed almost 2,500 women at higher risk for breast or ovarian cancer because of two genetic mutations between 1974 and 2008 at 22 centers in Europe and North America.
During the observation period, among the 247 women that chose risk-reducing mastectomies, none was diagnosed with breast cancer, while one in 13 among the 1,372 women who did not underwent the surgery was diagnosed with breast cancer.
Also, women who had the ovaries and fallopian tubes removed had a lower risk of ovarian cancer, even those that previously had breast cancer, and also a lower risk of dying from any form of cancer.
Dr. Tomlinson concluded that even if it is very difficult to accept, for women with specific genetic mutations as well as for the well-being of their families, it is a good idea to undergo risk-reducing mastectomies and removal of the fallopian tubes and ovaries.
“We have believed this for 15 years but it's been so controversial — removing organs for cancer risk,” she added.
The only way that some people can overcome this idea is if they consider that these women are seeing people in their family suffering from these cancers one after another.
“This is a compromise women are willing to accept and their husbands are willing to accept, because the whole family worries about whether the women are going to get breast cancer,” said Dr. Tomlinson.
The quality of life after this kind of surgery is not assessed in this study and Dr Tomlinson says that this is an issue that must be weight seriously by women and their families.
She is making efforts to build a genetic program at the Cancer Therapy & Research Center at the UT Health Science Center, that will have benefits across the generations, as it will help people identify and deal with the hereditary risks that are associated will cancers in general.
The study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, September 1st.