Ovary and fallopian tube removal linked to lower death risk in BRCA carriers with breast cancer

Removing ovaries and fallopian tubes linked to lower risk of early death among breast cancer patients with BRCA cancer genes

Women diagnosed with breast cancer who carry particular BRCA1 and BRCA2 genetic variants are offered surgery to remove the ovaries and fallopian tubes as this dramatically reduces their risk of ovarian cancer. Now, researchers have shown that this procedure -- known as bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (BSO) -- is associated with a substantial reduction in the risk of early death among these women, without any serious side-effects.

Ovary and fallopian tube removal linked to lower death risk in BRCA carriers with breast cancer

Women diagnosed with breast cancer who carry particular BRCA1 and BRCA2 genetic variants are offered surgery to remove the ovaries and fallopian tubes as this dramatically reduces their risk of ovarian cancer.

World, May 08, 2025 (ATB Digital) .- Ovarian cancer is a disease that, by its silent nature, presents important challenges in its diagnosis. Often, the initial symptoms are confused with common gastrointestinal or urinary conditions, which makes it difficult to detect in early stages. “As early diagnosis is so difficult, because it is not like cervical cancer, which is a tumor in which we do the Pap smear or the HPV test. Here we do not have a s…

Ovarian cancer is one of the most complex gynaecological diseases to detect. The Spanish Society of Medical Oncology (SEOM), in its report The cancer figures in Spain 2024, estimates that this year approximately 3,716 new cases of ovarian cancer will be diagnosed in Spain. The absence of clear symptoms in the early stages causes approximately 70 percent of patients to be diagnosed when the disease is already in advanced stages, complicating thei…