Study Highlights Significant Side Effects Experienced by BRCA Mutation Carriers Following Cancer Risk-Reducing Surgical Procedure

The majority of women with cancer causing BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations experience sexual dysfunction, menopausal symptoms, cognitive and stress issues, and poor sleep following prophylactic removal of their Fallopian tubes and ovaries - a procedure known as risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy (RRSO) - according to results of a new study from the Abramson Cancer Center and the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. The team's findings, which reaffirm the need for a better understanding of how to manage long-term effects of the risk-reducing procedure, will be presented during the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago's McCormick Place on Saturday, May 31, 2014 ( abstract #1508 ). "These results reinforce the need for care providers to better understand and communicate with patients about the possible long-term effects of bilateral RRSO," said lead author Susan Domchek, MD , director of Penn's Basser Research Center for BRCA. "Removal of the Fallopian tubes and ovaries is associated with a decreased risk of death from breast and ovarian cancer for BRCA carriers, and is one of the most important interventions we have at the current time. However, this procedure comes with a price, so it's extremely important that clinicians work with women to help alleviate symptoms." The new study surveyed 637 women with BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations who had undergone the risk-reducing surgical procedure to have both ovaries and Fallopian tubes removed.