Patients with a strong family history of breast and/or ovarian cancer might benefit from BRAC1/2 testing (blood/saliva test).
Patients who are negative for BRCA1/2 have the “normal” risk of breast and ovarian cancer similar to the general population. The only exemption would be if patients carry a mutation that has not been described in the world-literature yet.
Patients who are positive for BRCA1/2 mutations will benefit from prophylactic, risk-reducing laparoscopic bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (BSO) and washings.It is very important that the pathologist is aware of the mutation so he/she can use the SEE-FIM protocol (extensive sectioning of fallopian tube) to examine the specimen as there is an occult rate of cancers in 4% of cases.
