By BREAST removal surgery, also known as a mastectomy, is offered to treat breast cancer in some women and can also be recommended to women deemed to be at high risk of the disease as a preventative measure.
A study found that if more women were given preventative mastectomies, then some 6,500 breast cancer cases could be cut each year.
Risk-reducing mastectomies (RRM) are currently only offered to women with the BRCA1, BRCA2, PALB2 genes, which are linked to a higher risk of breast cancer, experts said.
But the analysis has suggested that some women with other genes, including ATM, CHEK2, RAD51C, RAD51D, who may also be at risk because of a number of other factors, may benefit from RRM if assessed as having a higher risk of disease.
Such other factors can include a family history of breast cancer, the number of children they have had, whether they have breastfed and mammogram density.
Women in the UK have an 11 per cent chance of developing breast cancer across their lifetime.
Medics can calculate a woman’s risk of breast cancer using tools that combine the effects of various risk factors.
‘Significant Clinical Implications’
Researchers from Queen Mary University of London and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) found that if health officials could identify all women aged 30 to 55 with a 35 per cent or higher risk of breast cancer and they all went on to have RRM, then an estimated 6,538 cases could be prevented in the UK each year.
This is equivalent to around 11 per cent of the 59,000 women in the UK who are diagnosed with breast cancer each year.
The academics pointed out that women with one of the other genes linked to breast cancer, who may be at high risk of disease, could potentially be found by a mechanism called “cascade testing”, where genetic tests are offered to family members of women found to have the different genes linked to the disease.
The economic evaluation study, which was published in the JAMA Oncology journal, said: “Undergoing RRM appears cost-effective for women at 30-55 years with a lifetime BC-risk 35 per cent (or more).
“The results could have significant clinical implications to expand access to RRM beyond BRCA1/BRCA2/PALB2 pathogenic variant carriers.”
Prof Ranjit Manchanda, one of the paper’s authors and a gynaecological oncology professor at Queen Mary University of London, said: “We, for the first time, define the risk at which we should offer RRM.
He added: “This could potentially prevent [around] 6,500 breast cancer cases annually in UK women.
“We recommend that more research is carried out to evaluate the acceptability, uptake and long-term outcomes of RRM among this group.”
Women deemed to be at high risk of breast cancer can also be offered regular screening and medication.
Louise Grimsdell, a senior clinical nurse specialist at Breast Cancer Now, said: “Choosing to have risk-reducing surgery is a complex and deeply personal decision that comes with emotional and physical implications.
“So it’s vital women can consider all their options, including screening and risk-reducing medications, and are supported by their clinician to make an informed decision that’s right for them.”
Source: The Telegraph
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