Affiliations: Department of Medical Genetics, St Mary's Hospital
Manchester, UK | Foundation for the Detection of Hereditary Tumours,
Leiden, Netherlands | FrauenKlinik der Heinrich-Heine-Universitat,
Dusseldorf, Germany | Wessex Regional Genetics Service, Southampton,
UK | Division of Medical and Molecular Genetics, Guy's
Hospital, London, UK | Unit of Medical Genetics, Norwegian Radium Hospital,
Oslo, Norway | Department of Medical Genetics, Belfast City Hospital,
Belfast, UK | Unité de Génétique Oncologique,
Institut Curie, Paris, France | Department of Medical Genetics, University of
Aberdeen, Foresterhill, Aberdeen, UK
Abstract: Increasingly women at high risk of breast cancer are opting for
prophylactic surgery to reduce their risks. Data from 10 European centres that
offer a risk counselling and screening service to women at risk show different
approaches to the option of preventive surgery, although most centres adhere to
a protocol including at least two risk counselling sessions and a psychological
assessment. Thus far the combined centres have data on 174 women who have
undergone prophylactic mastectomy with in excess of 400 women years of follow
up. Operations were carried out on women with lifetime risks of 2580%,
with an average annual expected incidence rate of 1% per women. No breast
cancers have occurred in this cohort. Long term follow up on an extended group
of women will be necessary to truly address the risk of subsequent breast
cancer and the psychological sequelae.
Journal: Disease Markers, vol. 15, no. 1-3, pp. 148-151, 1999
