Newswise — Contralateral prophylactic mastectomies (CPM), like the one actress Angelina Jolie recently underwent, can greatly reduce the risk of breast cancer in women with a genetic predisposition, as Jolie has with the BRCA mutation. However, only 5 to 10 percent of breast cancers are the result of gene mutations in BRCA 1 and BRCA2.

If cases like hers are rare, why are more and more women turning to mastectomies to prevent breast cancer?

Swati Kulkarni, MD, an associate professor of surgery at the University of Chicago Medicine and nationally recognized breast surgeon, investigates the reasons women are increasingly choosing CPM when, in many cases, the surgery may not improve their survival. According to Kulkarni, preliminary results show greater awareness about cancer and fear of the disease are driving this increase.

Kulkarni and her colleagues at the University of Chicago Medicine and NorthShore University HealthSystem are still gathering information from newly diagnosed cancer patients who seek mastectomies. Kulkarni hopes their insight will better educate women about preventive and surgical options to stay cancer-free.

Kulkarni is available for phone and camera interviews as part of a larger discourse on breast cancer and how women can fight this disease with the right information.

Her bio can be found here:http://www.uchospitals.edu/physicians/swati-kulkarni.html

Lorna WongAssistant Director for Media RelationsUniversity of Chicago Medicine773-702-0188[email protected]