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The four women had a higher risk of contracting the disease due to genetic alterations.
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Four women underwent innovative two-in-one surgery to reduce the risk of ovarian cancer while undergoing a cesarean section.
The women, who were treated at University College London Hospitals (UCLH), were all carriers of alterations in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes that put them at higher risk of contracting the disease.
Risk-reducing surgery for these patients is usually a separate procedure to remove the fallopian tubes and ovaries. But experts decided to see if it could be done in conjunction with a C-section.
The first two-in-one surgery was carried out in 2018, and three more have been completed since then.
Scientists say that given its success, it could be routinely offered to women at higher risk of ovarian cancer who are having a cesarean section.
Claire Rodrigues Lee, 45, was one of four women who underwent an innovative two-in-one surgery to reduce the risk of ovarian cancer while undergoing a caesarean section.
The women, who were treated at University College London hospitals (pictured), were all carriers of alterations in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes which put them at higher risk of contracting the disease.
Women who carry these genetic alterations – including actress Angelina Jolie – have an 11 to 68 percent lifetime risk of developing ovarian cancer, compared to a 2 percent risk in the general population. .
Alterations in the BRCA gene are linked to about 15 percent of ovarian cancers.
Risk-reducing surgery is the only proven way to reduce mortality from ovarian cancer and reduces the risk of the disease by at least 95 percent.
The four women, who were aged between 40 and 45, were referred to UCLH while pregnant between 2018 and 2022. All were due to give birth by caesarean section and were not planning to have more children.
The patients did not need to stay in the hospital longer than they would after a C-section alone, and none had serious complications.
Professor Adam Rosenthal, consultant gynecologist at UCLH, said: “Offering this two-in-one surgery could be very beneficial for other women at high risk of ovarian cancer, who would then avoid the need for a separate risk-reducing surgery.”
‘The number of women giving birth by caesarean section is increasing worldwide, as is the number of women who know they carry a genetic alteration that increases their risk of ovarian cancer.
‘This means that many more women may be suitable for the combined procedure. There is also potential cost savings for any healthcare system by avoiding the need for two separate operations.’
Both men and women can have defective BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes and, according to Cancer Research UK, they are found in around one in 400 people.
Those who inherit defective versions of these genes have a higher risk of developing strains of ovarian, breast, prostate and pancreatic cancer.
The four cases were reported in the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.