Angelina Jolie surgery

Breast cancer boost after Angelina Jolie-style surgery that 'spares' the nipple and

surrounding skin is declared safe

• 85 per cent of cancers originate in the milk ducts connected to the nipple 
• Leaving them in place was thought only to increase cancer risk 
• Study proves that 'nipple-sparing mastectomies' prevent aggressive tumours just as effectively 

Breast cancer surgery that ‘spares’ the nipple and surrounding skin while removing the underlying tissue is as effective in protecting women at high genetic risk of the disease as total mastectomy.

As 85 per cent of cancers originate in the milk ducts connected to the nipple, leaving them in place was thought only to increase cancer risk, particularly in those already vulnerable women who carry a faulty – and thus potentially fatal – BRCA gene.

But now a landmark study led by surgeons at the world-renowned Mayo Clinic in America has proved that so-called nipple-sparing mastectomies prevent aggressive tumours just as effectively as the more radical option. 

Many patients – including Hollywood star Angelina Jolie – have taken this approach, as it allows a more natural-looking breast after cosmetic reconstruction.

‘This modern technique is safe, and it can give an excellent cosmetic result to patients who want to reduce their risk of breast cancer,’ said surgeon Dr James Jakub, who led the multi-institutional study.

The scientists looked at the safety of nipple-sparing mastectomies for women who carry the BRCA1 gene mutation, which dramatically increases breast cancer risk. Dr Jakub explained that until now ‘there has not been a clear answer to whether it is safe to leave ductal tissue behind in this population, who in every cell of their bodies have this genetic mutation, when the majority of breast cancers are ductal in origin.’

The researchers studied 348 patients who collectively had 551 mastectomies (some had one breast removed, others two) between 1968 and 2013.

None of the women who had the bilateral (both breast) nipple-sparing surgery developed breast cancer after an average of three to five years. Follow-up times ranged from three years to 36 years and the only patients who developed breast cancer were those that already had cancer at the time of the surgery.

Dr Jakub said: ‘We’d have expected a number of these women to develop breast cancer by now. These findings suggest that this type of mastectomy is very safe.’

Surgeons perform two types of nipple-sparing surgeries. Both are technically demanding operations, in which surgeons remove as much breast tissue as possible.

For smaller-breasted women, a surgeon makes an incision at the inframammary crease – where the underside of the breast sticks to the chest. The breast tissue is lifted away from the muscle, separated from the skin and removed, leaving the nipple and skin intact.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3567216/Breast-cancer-boost-Angelina-Jolie-style-surgery-spares-nipple-surrounding-skin-declared-safe.html#ixzz47V9FaIsH 
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