Removing both breasts reduces cancer risk by 90%

Main Category: Cancer / Oncology
Article Date: 25 Feb 2004 - 0:00 PDT

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A double preventive mastectomy reduces the chance of breast cancer in women who are genetically prone to the disease by 90%.

This is according to research carried out by the University of Pennsylvania, the report is also published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

The removal of the ovaries also makes HRT safe for these women.

The six-year study examined women who carry the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene, which greatly raises the risk of breast and ovarian cancer.

The researchers found just two cases of cancer among 105 women who had both breasts removed as a prophylactic measure - a cancer rate of 1.9 per cent. The study included women from Britain, the United States and the Netherlands.