Background: It has been argued that salpingectomy would reduce the risk of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC), based on the theory of the tube being the site of origin.
Objectives: To conduct a systematic review of 'salpingectomy' associated with ovarian cancer risk and 'salpingectomy with concomitant hysterectomy' on outcomes of complications including endocrine function.
Search strategy: A comprehensive search was conducted in PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane library.
Selection criteria: Original studies and systematic reviews were eligible.
Data collection and analysis: Each article was quality assessed. Data were extracted and, when possible, pooled in meta-analyses. The certainty of evidence across studies was evaluated using GRADE.
Main results: Of 844 articles found, 11 were included. No study evaluated risk reduction for EOC after salpingectomy in conjunction with hysterectomy. Two retrospective studies reported a reduced ovarian cancer risk after indicated salpingectomy, compared with no surgery: adjusted hazard ratio 0.65 (95% confidence interval, 95% CI 0.52-0.81) and adjusted odds ratio 0.58 (95% CI 0.36-0.95). Complications did not differ between groups with or without salpingectomy, but were non-systematically reported. Ovarian endocrine function, measured with surrogate outcomes, did not differ at short-term follow-up in randomised or observational studies. The certainty of evidence was very low or low for all outcomes.
Conclusions: There is currently insufficient evidence to state that opportunistic salpingectomy reduces the risk of EOC. The impact on long-term endocrine function is unknown. The heterogeneity in results and identified knowledge gaps stress the need for a prospective trial.
Tweetable abstract: Insufficient evidence for prophylactic removal of the fallopian tubes for risk reduction of ovarian cancer.
Keywords: Hysterectomy; opportunistic salpingectomy; ovarian cancer risk reduction.
© 2017 Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.