Among women with BRCA mutations who underwent risk-reducing bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, the procedure led to a cancer diagnosis in 3%, according to research presented at the virtual annual scientific meeting of the Society of Gynecologic Surgeons.
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Of 269 patients, 8 (3%) received a cancer diagnosis. In five cases, the cancer was diagnosed on final pathology, and three had immediate conversion to staging.
The data suggest that gynecologists as well as gynecologic oncologists may perform the procedure, but gynecologists may be less likely to obtain pelvic washings in accordance with guidelines for this indication.
said study author Coralee Toal, MD, of UPMC Magee-Womans Hospital in Pittsburgh. “It is often a diagnosis that is found at the time of pathology, so the initial procedure would not have been changed either way.”
Still, doctors who perform the procedure should follow recommended practices such as obtaining pelvic washings and identifying patients for the procedure within target age ranges, Dr. Toal said.
BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations confer an increased risk of ovarian and breast cancer, but there is no effective form of ovarian cancer screening. Women with a known mutation may have a bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy to reduce the risk of cancer. The recommended age range for the procedure is 35-40 years for women with BRCA1 mutations and 40-45 years for women with BRCA2 mutations.
When the procedure is performed for this indication, various recommendations apply that may differ from those when the procedure is performed under different circumstances.
During risk-reducing bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, the surgeon should thoroughly evaluate the abdominal cavity, obtain pelvic washings for cytology, remove at least 2 cm of the infundibulopelvic ligament, and divide the fallopian tube at the uterine cornua.
To assess the incidence of occult ovarian cancer at the time of risk-reducing bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy and surgeon adherence to recommended practices, Dr. Toal and colleagues performed a retrospective chart review.
They included patients who had a known BRCA mutation and underwent a risk-reducing bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy between July 2007 and September 2018. They excluded patients who had a suspicious adnexal mass before the procedure but not a known diagnosis, as well as patients with another malignancy or genetic syndrome.
The researchers evaluated adherence to recommendations by reviewing operative reports.
In all, they reviewed data from 269 patients. In 220 cases, a gynecologic oncologist performed the procedure, and in 49 cases a gynecologist performed the procedure.
Patients tended to be older than would be expected, said Dr. Toal. Patients with BRCA1 mutations had an average age of 46 years, and patients with BRCA2 mutations had an average age of 49 years.
Patients who received a cancer diagnosis were significantly older on average, compared with the other patients: 58 years versus 48 years.
Pelvic washings were performed during 95% of the procedures performed by a gynecologic oncologist, compared with 63% of the procedures performed by a gynecologist. In addition, patients who had the procedure performed by a gynecologist were significantly older than those who had the procedure performed by a gynecologic oncologist (49 vs. 47 years).
Miles Murphy, MD, president of the Society of Gynecologic Surgeons, asked how doctors should weigh the possibility of risk-reducing oophorectomy at the time of benign hysterectomy in patients without a family history of female cancer.
It could be that genetic testing would be appropriate for some of those patients, Dr. Toal said. It is “important to take a thorough family history to make sure that you are identifying anybody who may benefit from genetic counseling and genetic testing, where you might identify an otherwise not known mutation prior to an otherwise benign or routine surgery,” Dr. Toal said. “Then you would have the opportunity to perform this.”
For patients without known mutations, however, “we do know the benefit of ovaries remaining in situ ... including cardiac health,” she said. “You have to remember that people can die of a broken hip as well. The risk of osteoporosis and those things is not zero and in fact may be much higher than their ovarian cancer risk.”
One of the study authors is a surgeon educator for Covidien and Medtronic.
SOURCE: Newcomb LK et al. SGS 2020, Abstract 18.