Single-center retrospective cohort study of prophylactic salpingo-oophorectomy and survival after BRCA1/2 breast cancer resection

Few studies have investigated whether prophylactic salpingo-oophorectomy (PSO) is associated with a reduced risk of cancer-specific death among patients with previously resected breast cancer who carry pathogenic germline BRCA1/2 variants. A retrospective cohort study at the Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori (Milan, Italy) found that among 480 consecutive patients with surgically treated BRCA1/2 breast cancer between 1972 and 2019, PSO was significantly associated with improved overall survival compared with no PSO (HR 0.40; p<0.001). This reduction was most evident for patients carrying the BRCA1 variant, those with triple-negative disease, and those with invasive ductal carcinoma. The authors conclude that PSO should be offered to patients with BRCA1/2 breast cancer who undergo surgery.