Removing Fallopian tubes could reduce ovarian cancer risk

A doctor in UK has urged women at high risk of ovarian cancer that they have their Fallopian tubes removed as a precautionary step.

However, Cancer Research UK said that there was no evidence how effective it would be.

The Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie had a double mastectomy to reduce her chances of getting breast cancer after finding out she had a faulty BRCA gene.

The same mutation can also cause ovarian cancer. Prof Sean Kehoe said removing fallopian tubes might help, the BBC reported.

Some people with the mutation do have their ovaries and the connecting fallopian tubes removed to prevent ovarian cancer.

Prof Kehoe, of the charity Wellbeing of Women and the University of Birmingham, argues that just removing the tubes could help many women.

He said that the main advantage of this approach would be hopefully giving some protection but avoiding earlier menopause, as normally the ovaries would be removed.

Recent studies suggest that the fallopian tubes may be the source of up to 50 percent of so-called ovarian cancers, though research is ongoing, he said.