Background: According to previous reports, primary peritoneal carcinoma indistinguishable from primary ovarian adenocarcinoma had developed in five women with a history of familial ovarian cancer who had undergone prophylactic oophorectomy.
Methods: The records from the Gilda Radner Familial Ovarian Cancer Registry were reviewed for instances of prophylactic oophorectomy and cases of primary peritoneal carcinoma occurring after prophylactic oophorectomy.
Results: From 1981 through July 1992, the Gilda Radner Familial Ovarian Cancer Registry accessioned 931 families (a total of 2221 cases of familial ovarian cancer). Currently, 324 women in these families have undergone prophylactic oophorectomy as a preventive measure against the subsequent development of ovarian cancer. Primary peritoneal carcinoma indistinguishable histologically from primary ovarian adenocarcinoma has developed in six of these women 1-27 years after prophylactic oophorectomy.
Conclusions: Based on this finding and other reports of such primary peritoneal carcinoma, a prospective international study is planned. This study will compare the incidence of peritoneal carcinoma in first- or second-degree relatives who underwent prophylactic oophorectomy because of a family history of ovarian cancer with that of those who did not undergo prophylactic oophorectomy.