Some aspects of prophylactic oophorectomy and ovarian carcinoma

The early diagnosis of ovarian carcinoma is as difficult and rare as ever before. Despite the appearance of sophisticated drugs and combinations of these with surgery and radiotherapy the prognosis still remains the same as during the last 30 years, i.e. overall survival between 20 to 30%. This study concerns the impact of prophylactic oophorectomy in Sweden. 4.6% of ovarian carcinoma patients had received pelvic surgery at some time prior to the diagnosis of ovarian cancer and after the age of 40. With the help of statistical data it is estimated that about one hundred out of the approximately thousand women per year who now develop ovarian cancer in Sweden could be saved if prophylactic oophorectomy were practised in our country. Various aspects of prophylactic oophorectomy and its effects are discussed. It is our opinion that every gynaecologist/surgeon should seriously take into consideration and discuss the possibility of prophylactic oophorectomy in the perimenopausal patient before operation. Not to perform prophylactic oophorectomy during pelvic surgery after the menopause seems to us to be an unreasonable practice.