Ovarian Cancer Prevention Breakthrough in British Columbia

A new study led by researchers from the University of British Columbia, along with Canada===BC Cancer Agency and Canada===Vancouver Coastal Health, has found that opportunistic salpingectomy (OS) can reduce the risk of the most common and deadly type of ovarian cancer by nearly 80 percent. OS involves removing a person's fallopian tubes during another planned gynecological surgery, leaving the ovaries intact. Canada===British Columbia was the first in the world to offer OS as a standard option in 2010, and its adoption rate in the province is now around 80 percent for relevant procedures. The findings, published in JAMA Network Open, provide strong evidence for the effectiveness of this preventative strategy, which is based on the understanding that most ovarian cancers originate in the fallopian tubes. This research is expected to encourage wider global adoption of OS, potentially saving thousands of lives each year.