What percentage of ovarian cancer (OC) is reduced by a hysterectomy including a prophylactic oophorectomy (PO)?
Prophylactic oophorectomy (which is removal of the ovaries) is thought to eliminate the risk of what is called primary ovarian cancer but peritoneal cancer may still occur (this occurs because not every ovarian cell can be removed and may remain in the abdominal area called the peritoneal cavity). The precise risk for peritoneal carcinoma after PO is not known. A number of studies have been done1,2,3 and in these studies the risk for peritoneal cancer was anywhere from 2-11%, but these studies were all relatively small, which limits our ability to generalize about the findings. Interestingly enough, there have been numerous studies that have shown a reduction in breast cancer (from 20-50%) in women who have had a prophylactic oophorectomy.Additionally, in a 1999 study4 published by the NCI, they found an approximately 50% reduction in breast cancer risk for women who were known to carry BRCA1 mutations who had a PO. In their study, even women who used hormone replacement therapy (HRT)
