Ovary removal 'may increase associated health risks'

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Monday, 27th April 2009
A new study has suggested that women who have both ovaries removed during a hysterectomy are at greater risk of suffering death from other conditions such as coronary heart disease and lung cancer.

The research, published in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, contradicts existing thinking that bilateral oophorectomies increase the chance of long term survival among ovarian cancer patients.

An international team led by William Parker of the John Wayne Cancer Institute, US, found that the risk of death overall prior to age 50 increases by 40 per cent among women whose two ovaries are removed.

In addition, the prospects of heart disease and stroke nearly double in this age category when such treatment takes place.

Dr Parker commented: "For the last 35 years, most doctors have been routinely advising women undergoing hysterectomy to have their ovaries removed to prevent ovarian cancer.

"We believe that such an automatic recommendation is no longer warranted."

He claimed that while taking out the ovaries effectively prevents ovarian cancer, the study shows that it significantly increases the risk of other diseases that are "much more likely" to prove fatal.

Researchers at Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center, North Carolina, US, recently claimed that screening for ovarian cancer may help increase survival rates among sufferers.