What's better than early detection for ovarian cancer? Preventing it in the first place.
New guidance encourages those who are finished child bearing and are undergoing pelvic surgeries for benign conditions (hysterectomy, tubal ligations, cysts, endometriosis) to consider having their fallopian tubes removed. As the fallopian tube is the origin of most high-grade serous cancers, fallopian tube removal has been shown to dramatically reduce risk for a later ovarian cancer diagnosis. This has been referred to as “opportunistic salpingectomy”).
This guidance applies to anyone with ovaries regardless of their risk for ovarian cancer.