Oophorectomy News and Research

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Oophorectomy is the surgical removal of an ovary or ovaries. The surgery is also called ovariectomy, but this term has been traditionally used in basic science research describing the surgical removal of ovaries in laboratory animals.

Research confirms value of risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy for women with BRCA mutations

Prophylactic salpingo-oophorectomy-removal of the ovaries and fallopian tubes--reduces the relative risk of breast cancer by approximately 50 percent and the risk of ovarian and fallopian tube cancer by approximately 80 percent in women who carry a mutation in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene, researchers report in the January 13 online issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

13 Jan 2009

Removal of ovaries during hysterectomy

During hysterectomy operations, surgeons often remove a woman's ovaries as well as her uterus. Cochrane Researchers now say there is no evidence that removing the ovaries provides any additional benefit and warn surgeons to consider the procedure carefully.

16 Jul 2008

MRI's high false positive rate has little impact on women's choice of preventive mastectomy

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) falsely detects breast cancer in five out of every six positive scans according to new research into the use of MRI for women with a high, inherited risk of developing the disease.

26 Mar 2008

Benefit of removal of the ovaries differs between women with BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations

The surgical removal of the ovaries has been widely adopted as a cancer-risk-reducing strategy for women with either BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations.

12 Feb 2008

New insight into breast cancer development in high-risk women

Physicians who treat women with the breast cancer susceptibility gene BRCA1 often remove their patients' ovaries to eliminate the source of estrogen they believe fuels cancer growth.

12 Sep 2007

Early surgical removal of the ovaries increases a woman's risk of neurological disorders

New research suggests that premenopausal women who have their ovaries removed have an increased risk of developing neurological disorders such as dementia and Parkinsonism.

30 Aug 2007

Estrogen protects women's brains prior to menopause

In the largest study of its kind, Mayo Clinic researchers have shown that women who had one or both ovaries removed before menopause faced an increased long-term risk of cognitive impairment or dementia, compared to women who retained their ovaries.

30 Aug 2007

Breast cancer prevention practices vary across Canada

Breast cancer preventive practices for Canadian women carrying the cancer gene vary across the country, says University of Toronto research, and many women are not taking advantage of the options available.

16 Aug 2007

Merits and risks of postmenopausal hormone therapy

The study was categorized as a primary prevention trial for coronary heart disease, although the fact that mean age at recruitment was 63 years was not given enough importance at that time. WHI investigators concluded that hormone therapy (HT) was not cardioprotective, and, in fact, its riskbenefit ratio did not favor the use of postmenopausal hormones for prevention of chronic diseases.

17 May 2007

Women with mutations in BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes can reduce cancer risk by having ovaries removed

Women with mutations in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes can significantly reduce their risk of certain types of cancer by having their ovaries removed, according to a study in the July 12 issue of Journal of the American Medical Association.

12 Jul 2006

Prophylactic surgery reduces the incidence of ovarian and related cancers

A new multicenter study is the first to suggest that the prophylactic removal of the ovaries and fallopian tubes may provide a different benefit for women who carry a genetic mutation in the BRCA2 gene than for those who have a BRCA1 genetic mutation.

7 Jun 2006

Hormonal treatments reduce risk of cancer returning

Women diagnosed with breast cancer who carry a certain genetic mutation can have breast-sparing surgery but should consider hormonal treatments to reduce their risk of cancer returning.

6 Jun 2006

Surgically menopausal women are at increased risk for low sexual desire

Researchers have published the first-ever multi-cultural prevalence study using multi-dimensional psychometrically valid outcomes to determine if women who undergo surgical menopause have a greater risk of low sexual interest compared with that of pre-menopausal or naturally menopausal women.

1 Mar 2006

Women satisfied with contralateral prophylactic mastectomy

Mayo Clinic researchers report that most women who have a contralateral (opposite to cancerous breast) prophylactic mastectomy (CPM) are satisfied and would elect this procedure again. Satisfaction with CPM was studied an average of 10 years after the procedure was done. The findings were published online Oct. 3 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

24 Oct 2005

Testosterone patch may produce modest increases in sexual desire

A testosterone patch may produce modest increases in sexual desire and frequency of satisfying sexual experiences in women who develop distressful, low sexual desire following hysterectomy and removal of the fallopian tubes and ovaries, according to a study in the July 25 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

25 Jul 2005

National clinical trial on early detection of ovarian cancer available at Massey

Virginia Gov. Mark Warner declared September “Gynecological Cancer Awareness Month” in a certificate of recognition to Virginia Commonwealth University’s Massey Cancer Center.

1 Sep 2004

Enzyme called COX-2 may promote the development of ovarian tumors

Fox Chase Cancer Center scientists have identified how an enzyme called COX-2 may promote the development of ovarian tumors, adding further insight into the mechanism of COX-2 inhibitors and the prevention of this highly lethal disease. The data was presented today at the 95th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in Orlando, Fla.

29 Mar 2004