Laparoscopic salpingo-oophorectomy for ovarian ablation in women with hormone-sensitive breast cancer

Objective

To evaluate institutional experiences regarding laparoscopic salpingo-oophorectomy in breast cancer patients and to compare the technique with gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analogs among premenopausal women with hormone-sensitive breast cancer.

Methods

Between 2004 and 2009, 103 women with breast cancer underwent laparoscopic salpingo-oophorectomy at Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, UK. All relevant medical records—including reasons for salpingo-oophorectomy, peri-operative events, and subsequent follow-up—were reviewed.

Results

In the study period, 3 (2.9%) women experienced a recurrence of breast cancer but none had primary peritoneal/ovarian cancer within a median follow-up interval of 34 months (range, 0-70 months). No operative complications were noted among these women and all of them went home on the day of their operation.

Conclusion

Laparoscopic salpingo-oophorectomy seems to be a safe, permanent, and cost-effective method of ovarian ablation compared with the use of GnRH analogs. Salpingo-oophorectomy also considerably reduces the risk of subsequent ovarian/fallopian tube malignancy in this high-risk population.