Women with mutations in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes can significantly reduce their risk of certain types of cancer by having their ovaries removed, according to a study in the July 12 issue of JAMA. Women with a harmful mutation in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene have a high lifetime risk of ovarian cancer (range, 15 percent-54 percent), and mutations in either of these genes increase susceptibility to cancers of the ovary, fallopian tube, and peritoneum (abdominal lining), according to background information in the article. Women with this mutation are often advised to undergo preventive oophorectomy (surgical removal of the ovaries). The effectiveness of this intervention has not been prospectively evaluated in a large group of patients. Steven A. Narod, M.D., of the Toronto-Sunnybrook...