Men with certain genetic mutations that greatly raise their risk of breast and ovarian cancer can cut the risk by as much as 80 percent if they get their ovaries removed by age 35, a new study suggests.
It’s the first study to show just how much the operation can do to lower the risk of cancer, and it’s the first to put such a clear age on the benefits.
It’s a finding so striking that the researchers think ovary removal should become standard for anyone with so-called BRCA1 mutations.
“This really validates for those of us who take care of women who have a high-risk BRCA1 … gene, that removing the ovaries and fallopian tubes really does have a positive impact on that woman, reduces her risk of ovarian cancer tremendously and also improves her survival,” said Dr. Ursula Matulonis of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, who was not involved in the study.
It’s not an easy decision. Having the ovaries out, an operation called an oophorectomy, throws a young woman into instant and permanent menopause. But the study, published in the journal of Clinical Oncology, suggests it is worth all the awful side-effects, which include a likely end to a woman’s childbearing years.
Many women with BRCA mutations already get their breasts removed long before any sign of cancer — actress Angelina Jolie was one of them, having her breasts removed at age 37.
Nicole Armstrong knew she was at risk because her grandmother died so young. “So I always thought, ‘OK, I have an increased risk. Instead of going for mammograms at 50, I have to go around 40,” the 28-year-old, who lives in Easton, Pa.
Source: NBC news