Even when at low risk, some women should remove fallopian tubes to avoid ovarian cancer, say experts

More women who have given birth, even those at low risk of ovarian cancer, should have their tubes removed as a precautionary measure to prevent fatal disease, leading research group advises. doing.

of new guidance The Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance, announced this week, urged women who do not carry a mutation that puts them at increased risk for ovarian cancer. ovarian cancer If you’ve given birth and are already planning another gynecological surgery, your fallopian tubes are removed. 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 we generally don’t send messages to our patients. general populationAlliance chairman Audra Moran told The New York Times.

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. This means removing the fallopian tubes if the patient already has them. pelvic surgeryteeth standard practice In British Columbia, Dr. Dianne Miller, former leader of the Gynecologic Cancer Service, told The Times.

“Fifteen years ago, it became clear that the deadliest and most common type of high-grade cancer actually had its origins. Fallopian tube It spreads very quickly, not in the ovary,” explained Miller.

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 out that many of these cancers are probably preventable because many women will have surgery at some point for a hysterectomy, fibroid removal, or tubal ligation. ” explained Miller.

Moran suggested that young carriers of gene mutations have an increased risk of breast and breast cancer. ovarian cancer To prevent premature menopause, it is recommended to remove only the tube at first. But removing the ovaries is also considered the gold standard, reports The Times.

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 says genetic testing should be made more accessible. Fallopian tube Women who are not at high risk for another gynecological surgery.

“It’s considered experimental,” Dr. Stephanie Blank, president of the association, told The Times.

“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 Dahut, Chief Scientific Officer of the American Cancer Society, told The Times: the following. ”

“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. About 19,710 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer each year, many of which are in very advanced stages, reports The Times. 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.”

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