Download SIP paper on ovarian cancer and removal of the fallopian

SIP paper on ovarian cancer and removal of the fallopian tubes Key messages: • Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death from gynaecological cancers among women in the UK. It affects more than 6,500 women in the UK each year. • Survival rates for ovarian cancer have not increased much over the years. The main risk factors are advancing age and a family history of the disease. Surgery and chemotherapy remain the main treatment methods. • High grade serous ovarian carcinomas (HGSOC) are the most common type and most deaths are attributed to this type of cancer. • Recent evidence supports the fallopian tube as being the site of origin of HGSOC. Better understanding of this has the potential to have significant impact on the reduction of mortality associated with ovarian cancer. • In women at high risk of ovarian cancer, for example those who carry the BRCA 1 mutation (genes which increase the risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer), removal of the ovaries and fallopian tubes offers the greatest risk reduction for ovarian cancer and a significant risk reduction for breast cancer. • Opportunistic removal of the fallopian tubes during surgery for other gynaecological or abdominal surgery, carries minimal additional surgical risk to the patient and may reduce risk of developing ovarian cancer. However, more research is needed in this area. • National guidelines for removal of the fallopian tubes should be considered for low-­‐risk women who have completed their families, at the time of other gynaecological or abdominal surgery, to reduce the incidence of ovarian cancer.