Patients with ovarian cancer frequently present with advanced-stage disease; thus, it is important to identify accurately those at high risk and to offer risk reduction strategies. To this end, individuals thought to be at high risk are offered testing for BRCA mutations. Little is known about the risk-reduction strategies adopted by those who are found to be negative for these mutations. Now, a survey conducted in 1,477 women who underwent genetic counselling and BRCA testing has revealed that although women who are not found to have a BRCA mutation are less likely to undergo risk-reduction salpingo-oophorectomy than those with the mutation, there are still 12.3% who opt to have surgery. As this intervention is unproven in this population it seems that monitoring and further assessment is needed.
ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER
Mannis, G. V. et al. Risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy and ovarian cancer screening in 1077 women after BRCA testing. Arch. Intern. Med. doi:10.1001/2013.jamainternmed.962
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Risk reduction surgery in non-BRCA carriers–is less more?. Nat Rev Clin Oncol 10, 67 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrclinonc.2012.243
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrclinonc.2012.243