Intergroup statement: opportunistic salpingectomy-molecular pathology, clinical outcomes and implications for practice (German Ovarian Cancer Commission, the North-Eastern German Society of Gynecologic Oncology (NOGGO), AGO Austria and AGO Swiss)

Poelcher, Martin and Wimberger, Pauline and Meinhold-Heerlein, Ivo and Runnebaum, Ingo and Schueler-Toprak, Susanne and Mahner, Sven and Grimm, Christoph and Heinzelmann-Schwarz, Viola and Hasenburg, Annette and Sehouli, Jalid (2025) Intergroup statement: opportunistic salpingectomy-molecular pathology, clinical outcomes and implications for practice (German Ovarian Cancer Commission, the North-Eastern German Society of Gynecologic Oncology (NOGGO), AGO Austria and AGO Swiss). ARCHIVES OF GYNECOLOGY AND OBSTETRICS, 311 (5). pp. 1451-1459. ISSN 0932-0067, 1432-0711

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Abstract

Opportunistic salpingectomy is defined as the removal of both fallopian tubes as part of a surgical procedure planned for other reasons. The goal is primary prevention of ovarian cancer. The procedure is offered to patients who are not known to be at increased risk of developing ovarian cancer. This is in contrast to high-risk patients with a germline mutation, particularly BRCA1/2, for whom risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy is generally recommended. Premalignant cells and early occult cancers have been detected in RRSO specimens in the fimbrial funnel region, but not on the ovarian surface. The presence of mitoses, nuclear atypia, and staining in response to p53 mutation in these serous intraepithelial carcinomas (STIC) indicates the initial genetic changes in the fallopian tube mucosa that subsequently lead to the development of advanced peritoneal carcinomas. The identification of STICs has challenged the traditional view of the pathogenesis of the largest subset of epithelial ovarian cancers, namely the high-grade serous cancers of the ovary, fallopian tubes, and peritoneum. In a position statement published in 2015, the German Arbeitsgemeinschaft Gyn & auml;kologische Onkologie (AGO) Kommission Ovar recommended that patients be informed of the latest findings on the development and potential benefits of bilateral salpingectomy at the time of hysterectomy. This may reduce the risk of developing ovarian cancer later in life. However, the scientific evidence has not been deemed sufficient to justify a general recommendation. In the same year, the Austrian AGO published a statement recommending the broad use of opportunistic salpingectomy without reservation. This review examines the current status of molecular pathology studies, recent evidence on the clinical implications of STIC, new data on the use of opportunistic salpingectomy, and published patient outcomes since then. The question of whether the potential benefit of opportunistic salpingectomy, outweighs the potential harms associated with surgical morbidity, which have not been conclusively excluded, should be revisited in light of these recent data.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: BILATERAL SALPINGECTOMY; TUBAL-LIGATION; FALLOPIAN-TUBE; RISK; HYSTERECTOMY; WOMEN; COMPLICATIONS; CARCINOMA; TIME; Prevention; Ovarian cancer; Opportunistic salpingectomy; STIC
Subjects: 600 Technology > 610 Medical sciences Medicine
Divisions: Medicine > Lehrstuhl für Frauenheilkunde und Geburtshilfe (Schwerpunkt Frauenheilkunde)
Depositing User: Dr. Gernot Deinzer
Date Deposited: 22 Sep 2026 09:32
Last Modified: 22 Sep 2026 09:32
URI: https://pred.uni-regensburg.de/id/eprint/67644

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