Removal of ovaries found to lower risk of death for women with BRCA mutations

September 2, 2010

Surgical removal of the ovaries was found to increase survival in a study of 2,482 women who carry a BRCA mutation, according to results published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.  According to the study authors, women who carry BRCA 1/BRCA2 mutations have between a 56 to 84% lifetime risk of developing breast cancer.  Approximately 40% of the women in the study chose to have their ovaries removed, and 20% chose to remove their breasts.  During follow-up, which averaged four years, 3% of the women who had their ovaries removed died, compared with 10% of those who did not have the surgery.  Women who had their ovaries removed also had less risk of breast cancer specific death.  Six percent of the women who did not have their ovaries removed died from breast cancer, compared with 2% of the women who had the surgery.

Mortality was not calculated for women who had mastectomies, however, none of the women who had breasts removed developed breast cancer during three years of follow-up, compared with 7% of those women who did not have mastectomies.