Deaths from ovarian cancer could drop by as much as 50% in the next 20 years if surgeons remove the fallopian tubes of women undergoing a hysterectomy or tubal ligation, according to a team of gynecologic oncologists from Vancouver General Hospital and the British Columbia Cancer Agency.
Recent research has identified the origins of high-grade serous tumors in the lining of the fallopian tubes. That discovery, along with a study that 18% of women who developed ovarian cancer had fallopian tubes after hysterectomies, prompted the team to analyze the number of women who get high-grade serous tumors and those who get routine hysterectomies and tubal ligations.
The team’s findings have led them to urge all surgeons to remove the fallopian tubes during routine operations. This recommendation does not affect the practice of leaving the ovaries intact during hysterectomies for benign conditions.