If there's no cancer present, why remove a woman's ovaries during hysterectomy? Does the reduced risk of ovarian cancer outweigh the consequences of eliminating the protective hormones secreted by a healthy pair of ovaries? A team of researchers offers some thought-provoking conclusions.
The cumulative lifetime mortality rate for women from ovarian cancer after hysterectomy for benign disease is 0.47%, or fewer than one in 200. This is lower than the often-stated lifetime risk of one in 70, a number that includes women with BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations or other high-risk germ-line mutations.
Despite these important health concerns, many women feel that they do not have enough information about long-term risks and benefits to help them make a decision regarding the prophylactic removal of ovaries when they are having a hysterectomy for benign disease.3 A recent decision analysis for women with inherited BRCA1/2 mutations and at high risk for ovarian cancer (and breast cancer) found that prophylactic oophorectomy was clearly beneficial after completion of childbearing.4 But a recommendation for women with average risk of ovarian cancer has not been established.
The ideal way to study this issue would be with a prospective, randomized trial. However, to be statistically valid and yield meaningful outcomes, such a study would require 8,000 women randomized to oophorectomy or ovarian conservation and then followed for 40 years. So it's unlikely that outcomes will ever be studied in this way.
Socioeconomic disadvantage in pregnancy linked to postpartum CVD risk
February 19th 2025A new study highlights how neighborhood-level socioeconomic deprivation in early pregnancy significantly raises the long-term risk of cardiovascular disease in postpartum women, emphasizing the role of social determinants in maternal health.
Read More
Maternal hypertension and diabetes linked to worse offspring cardiovascular health
February 17th 2025A new study finds that children born to mothers with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy or gestational diabetes are at a higher risk of developing cardiovascular health issues by ages 10 to 14 years.
Read More