Risk-Reducing Salpingo-Oophorectomy and Breast Cancer Risk Reduction in the Gynecologic Oncology Group Protocol-0199...

Risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy (RRSO) has been associated with approximately 50% breast cancer risk reduction among women with a pathogenic variant in BRCA1 or BRCA2 (BRCA1/2), a finding that has recently been questioned.

We estimated incidence rates of breast cancer and all cancers combined during 5 years of follow-up among participants selecting RRSO or ovarian cancer screening (OCS) among women with a BRCA1/2 pathogenic variant or strong breast and/or ovarian cancer family history. Ovarian or fallopian tube or peritoneal cancer incidence rates were estimated for the OCS group. Breast cancer hazard ratios (HRs) for time-dependent RRSO were estimated using Cox regression with age time-scale (4943 and 4990 women-years in RRSO and OCS cohorts, respectively). All statistical tests were two-sided.

The RRSO cohort included 925 participants, and 1453 participants were in the OCS cohort (381 underwent RRSO during follow-up), with 88 incident breast cancers diagnosed. Among BRCA1/2 pathogenic variant carriers, a non-statistically significant lower breast cancer incidence was observed in the RRSO compared with the OCS cohort (HR = 0.86, 95% confidence interval  = 0.45 to 1.67; P = .67). No difference was observed in the overall population or among subgroups stratified by prior breast cancer history or menopausal status. Seven fallopian tube and four ovarian cancers were prospectively diagnosed in the OCS cohort, and one primary peritoneal carcinoma occurred in the RRSO cohort.

These data suggest that RRSO might be associated with reduced breast cancer incidence among women with a BRCA1/2 pathogenic variant, although the effect, if present, is small. This evolving evidence warrants a thorough discussion regarding the impact of RRSO on breast cancer risk with women considering this intervention.