Amanda Black

NCI, DCEG, EBP

PLCO (Learn more about this study)

2012-0052

Mar 21, 2012

Health Outcomes Related to Benign Oophorectomy

Approximately 300,000 women undergo oophorectomy annually in the United States, mainly as an incidental procedure performed concurrently with benign hysterectomy. The intent of incidental oophorectomy is to eliminate risk of ovarian cancer, which tends to present at an advanced stage and is frequently fatal. Historically, incidental oophorectomy has been advocated particularly for older women, in whom declining ovarian function, completion of childbearing and increasing ovarian cancer risk would seem to favor removal of the ovaries. Data also demonstrate that oophorectomy lowers risk of breast cancer, which may have provided additional encouragement for incidental removal. However, recent studies suggesting that benign oophorectomy may be associated with adverse outcomes have led to re-examination of the net benefit conferred by incidental oophorectomy. Despite the public health importance of this issue, definitive data related to risks and benefits of benign oophorectomy are lacking, in part because few large studies can address the question adequately. Accordingly, we propose to investigate the relationships between ovarian conservation and cancer and mortality outcomes in PLCO.