Preventive surgery to remove ovaries and fallopian tubes: Yale cancer experts provide insight

New Haven, Conn. — Two years after actress Angelina Jolie’s preventive double mastectomy, her doctors removed her ovaries and fallopian tubes when a blood test showed early signs of ovarian cancer. For women with the same genetic mutations considering a similar surgery, a personalized approach that considers age and other factors should be considered, according to Yale ovarian cancer experts Elena Ratner and Gil Mor.

Ratner and Mor are available today and this week to speak to reporters about the effects of this surgery on survival and quality of life. Their contact information is listed below.

• Elena Ratner, M.D., assistant professor of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive sciences, and a member of the Yale Cancer Center’s Gynecologic Oncology Program, Cancer Prevention and Control. [email protected], 203-610-4103

• Gil Mor, M.D., professor of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive sciences at Yale School of Medicine, a member of Yale Cancer Center, and director of the Discovery to Cure Program. [email protected], 203-687-8068

Ratner said the current clinical standard of care is for women with certain genetic mutations to undergo a risk review and to remove the ovaries and fallopian between the ages of 35 and 40. This surgery immediately puts the body into a postmenopausal state. “The decision needs to be made on an individual basis to determine which risk-reducing procedures are necessary,” said Ratner. “There are many other pharmacologic and lifestyle modifications that can be used to reduce cancer risks before turning to surgery. If surgery is chosen, Yale provides clinical quality of life programs that can help counteract the side effects of menopause.”

Based on new research, Mor said malignant cancer cells are more likely to come from cells outside of the ovaries that travel through the fallopian tubes. “Removing the ovaries is a sound approach for postmenopausal women, but for younger women, removing the fallopian tubes is more highly recommended to prevent ovarian cancer,” said Mor. “In younger women, the body goes through a postmenopausal state in 24 hours, when nature takes this process 10 years. This sudden lack of hormones has consequences like bone loss, loss of memory and libido, and negative effects on the cardiovascular system. This decision should be made based on the age of the patient.”

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