Breast cancers that are related to a BRCA gene mutation are known to increase the risk of ovarian cancer. However, new research indicates that this association does not apply to other types of hereditary breast cancer.
Researchers hope that the new findings will cause a decrease in the use of surgery to remove the ovaries among women with hereditary breast cancer. However, the researchers stress that larger studies with longer follow-up are needed to know for sure that BRCA mutation-negative breast cancer does not increase the risk of ovarian cancer, even slightly.
The research is published in the current issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
