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WEDNESDAY, Feb. 1, 2023 (HealthDay News) — More women, even those at low risk of ovarian cancer, are having their fallopian tubes as a preventative measure to prevent a deadly disease. It needs to be removed, a leading research group announced. advised.
of new guidance Announced this week, the Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance recommends that women who do not carry a mutation that puts them at increased risk for ovarian cancer have their fallopian tubes removed if they have given birth and are already planning another gynecologic procedure. Evidence suggests that most ovarian cancers, especially advanced cancers, actually begin in the fallopian tubes, Alliance noted.
Doctors already recommend that women at high risk of pregnancy have their ovaries and fallopian tubes removed after delivery (known as a salpingo-oophorectomy).
“Ovarian cancer is a relatively rare disease and usually doesn’t send a message to the general public.” Audra Moransaid the president of the alliance of new york times“I want everyone with ovaries to know their risk level and what actions they can take to help prevent ovarian cancer.”
One problem is the lack of reliable screening tests for ovarian cancer. large clinical trials Conducted in the UK.
Women have also been advised to watch out for symptoms such as bloating, but it’s not clear if that actually works, the alliance said.
Opportunistic salpingectomy, which means removing the fallopian tubes if the patient has already had pelvic surgery, is standard practice in British Columbia. Dr. Diane Miller, He was the leader of the gynecologic cancer service there, Times.
“Fifteen years ago, it became clear that the deadliest and most common type of high-grade cancer actually starts in the fallopian tubes, not the ovaries, and then spreads very quickly,” Miller said. explained Mr.
For those at average risk of ovarian cancer, removing just the fallopian tubes is a “win-win” situation, Miller said. This is because maintaining your ovaries, even after menopause, is beneficial for brain and heart health.
“I remember the moment the light bulb went off that many of these cancers are probably preventable, because many women will have surgery at some point to have a hysterectomy, fibroid removal, or tubal ligation. ” explained Miller.
Dr. Moran suggested that young carriers of gene mutations that increase the risk of breast or ovarian cancer may want to have just their fallopian tubes removed initially to prevent premature menopause. Considered the gold standard. Times report.
The Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance is now offering free home testing kits to eligible women so they can find out if they have BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations.
The Society of Gynecologic Oncology said genetic testing should be made more accessible. The association supports the idea of removing the fallopian tubes in women who are not at high risk of undergoing another gynecologic procedure.
“This is considered experimental” Dr. Stephanie BlankThe president of the association said: TimesBut “it makes scientific sense and has a lot of appeal.”
“Removing the tube isn’t as good as removing the tube and the ovary, but it’s better than a screening that doesn’t work,” Blank said.
Dr. Bill DaftChief Scientific Officer of the American Cancer Society, Times “There’s a lot of good data behind what they’re suggesting, showing a lower incidence of ovarian cancer in people who had that surgery.”
“From a biological point of view, maybe we should look at it differently by calling it fallopian tube cancer, because that’s where it starts,” Dahut added.
In the United States, ovarian cancer kills more women than any other female reproductive cancer, about 13,000 each year. Each year, approximately 19,710 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer, many of which are in very advanced stages. Times report. Survival rates are much lower than breast cancer, with 264,000 women and her 2,400 men diagnosed with breast cancer each year in the United States.
“As oncologists, we are looking at curing cancer,” said Dr. Miller. “But if there’s one thing that’s absolutely better than curing cancer, it’s not curing cancer in the first place.”
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more information. ovarian cancer.
sauce: new york times
