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Doctors are now advising more women to have their fallopian tubes removed to prevent ovarian cancer.
The removal of a woman’s fallopian tubes, also known as a salpingectomy, is usually done as a form of permanent birth control, as well as to treat conditions such as an ectopic pregnancy or endometriosis.
However, the Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance has published updated guidanceencouraging women who have finished having children and who are already ‘undergoing pelvic surgery’ for another condition to have their fallopian tubes removed as a protective measure against ovarian cancer.
“Since the fallopian tube is the source of most high-grade serous cancers, removal of the fallopian tubes has been shown to dramatically reduce the risk of a subsequent diagnosis of ovarian cancer,” the organization explained.
The fallopian tubes are used to carry an egg from the ovaries to the uterus when a woman becomes pregnant.
Doctors now advise women to have their fallopian tubes removed to avoid ovarian cancer (file image)
The suggestion to preventatively remove them to avoid ovarian cancer came after a UKCTOCS clinical trial found that, unlike other forms of cancer, how quickly the disease is detected is not directly related to its survival rate.
“In addition to finding that screening women at average risk does not reduce ovarian cancer mortality, the trial revealed that for many women identifying their cancer at Stage I or Stage II did not affect their mortality,” the Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance revealed.
‘Detecting it at an earlier stage was not enough to prevent them from dying from the disease and did not prolong their lives.
“Equally paradoxically, the same study showed that some women (albeit a minority of women) diagnosed at a late stage did very well.
‘Their late-stage diagnosis did not doom them to a poor prognosis, because there was something about their cancer that was less aggressive, and their positive result would have occurred whether it was diagnosed earlier or later.
“It is clear that for early detection to dramatically improve outcomes, new as-yet-undiscovered methods will need to be developed so that cancer can be discovered much sooner in those with more aggressive ovarian cancer.”
According to the American Cancer Society, 19,710 women in the US are diagnosed with ovarian cancer each year and 13,000 die annually from the disease.
An NYU Langone gynecologic oncologist named Bhavana Pothuri said Washington Post that the procedure is ‘simple’ and ‘does not affect your hormonal function’.
During the surgery, doctors will make a cut in the abdomen to remove the tubes, however it can also be done laparoscopically, which means the surgeon will make a much smaller incision and use a clamp-like instrument to perform the surgery. .
However, the procedure has a long recovery time (it can take up to three weeks to return to normal) and healthdirect.gov He noted that surgery carries some serious risks, including infection, damage to nearby organs, and excessive bleeding.
The Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance encouraged women who no longer have children and who are already “undergoing pelvic surgery” to have their fallopian tubes removed (file image)
It also has a high price, since MedicineNet.com He said it can cost between $4,000 and $100,000 depending on your insurance.
It’s not clear whether or not insurance would cover the procedure for women who aren’t considered high risk but who get it to prevent ovarian cancer.
Karen H. Lu, who is in the department of gynecologic oncology and reproductive medicine at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, told the Washington Post that this could be an effective way to prevent ovarian cancer, since most most of the time it starts in the fallopian tubes.
Rebecca Lynn Stone, a gynecologic oncology surgeon, echoed these sentiments to hopkins medicine explaining, ‘Salpingectomy reduces the risk of ovarian cancer in all people.
‘It is essential to understand that [even] people who are at average risk of ovarian cancer (those with no known hereditary risk) are eligible for salpingectomy for ovarian cancer prevention once they have finished having children.’
As of now, the procedure is only recommended for those already undergoing pelvic surgery for something else, such as a hysterectomy, tubal ligation, cyst removal, or endometriosis.
The suggestion comes amid growing concern about the rise of the “surgery first” attitude across the United States.
Last month, pediatricians began recommending that obese children ages 13 and older should have bariatric surgery, as well as weight-loss drugs.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) announced in early January that it was now formally against the long-standing practice of “watchful waiting,” or delaying treatment to see if children outgrow or outgrow obesity. for themselves.
Medical interventions should be used in addition to intensive diet, exercise, and other behavioral and lifestyle interventions, said Dr. Eneli, director of the Center for Healthy Weight and Nutrition at Children’s National Hospital.