| Summary: | Prophylactic salpingo-oophorectomy, the preventive removal of the ovaries and fallopian tubes, is recommended to women who carry a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation in order to reduce the risk of breast, ovarian and fallopian tube cancer. The short and long term health and quality of life effects of this procedure are not well understood. We examined the actual and perceived reduction in cancer risk associated with this surgery. The impact of prophylactic salpingo-oophorectomy on health-related quality of life, psychological distress, cancer worry, menopausal symptoms, and sexual function during the year following surgery was also evaluated. In our prospective study, prophylactic salpingo-oophorectomy was associated with an 80% reduction in ovarian and fallopian tube cancer risk. The residual risk for primary peritoneal cancer was 0.2% per year or 4.3% at 20 years after salpingo-oophorectomy. Most women accurately perceived their risk of breast cancer. However, the risk for ovarian cancer was overestimated, particularly by women who carry a BRCA2 mutation. Physical and mental health-related quality of life did not decrease in the year following surgery; and psychological distress was similar to levels experienced by the general population. Most women were significantly less worried about cancer after the surgery, however, a subset of women continued to experience significant cancer specific distress after prophylactic salpingo-oophorectomy. Women who underwent prophylactic salpingo-oophorectomy when premenopausal experienced a significant worsening of vasomotor symptoms and a decline in sexual functioning. Hormone replacement therapy mitigated these symptoms, but not to pre-surgical levels. Dyspareunia was somewhat alleviated by hormone replacement therapy, however, the decrease in sexual pleasure was not. Satisfaction with the decision to undergo prophylactic salpingo-oophorectomy was high regardless of these symptoms. These studies will provide women who are considering prophylactic salpingo-oophorectomy with information about the reduction in cancer risk associated with the surgery and the possible effects experienced during the year following surgery.
|
|---|
