For young women who carry the BRCA1/2 gene mutation, there is often a difficult decision to be made as to whether to have risk reduction surgery, to help prevent subsequent ovarian cancer. Surgery for these women usually involves removal of the fallopian tubes with or without ovary removal. Sometimes removal of the ovaries is delayed either until childbearing is complete or until the normal age for menopause.
This prospective trial with 577 recruits randomly assigned women aged 25 to 40 with BRCA1/2 mutations into two groups; those who had simple tubal removal or those who had removal of both tubes and ovaries.
Using an objective measurement of quality of life (The Greene Climacteric Scale), the women were reviewed 3 and 12 months after surgery. Results from the survey showed that those women who had delayed ovary removal had a better quality of life. This was despite hormone replacement therapy being available for those whose ovaries had been removed.
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