OCRA Featured in Fortune on Surgery That Reduces Ovarian Cancer Risk

A new article in Fortune highlights a promising but underused way to reduce the risk of ovarian cancer: opportunistic salpingectomy, the removal of the fallopian tubes during another abdominal surgery. The piece grew out of journalist and breast cancer survivor Beth Greenfield’s earlier reporting on Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance’s prevention messaging—coverage that ultimately led her to consider the procedure for herself.

I had one simple surgery to lower my risk of the deadliest cancer for women. Here’s why you probably don’t know about it—but should—was published on June 16, 2025, and delves into Greenfield’s experience, along with expert insights from Audra Moran, President and CEO of Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance (OCRA), and Dr. Gillian Hanley, a member of OCRA’s Scientific Advisory Committee.

A Survivor’s Perspective on Risk and Prevention

Greenfield, a breast cancer survivor with a family history of cancer, learned about salpingectomy through OCRA’s aggressive push to raise awareness about this potentially lifesaving procedure, and opted for the procedure during a planned abdominal surgery.

I myself had no idea about any of this until 2023,” Greenfield writes, “when I wrote about the Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance (OCRA) making sweeping recommendations: that all women get genetically tested to know their risk of the disease, and that all women, regardless of their risk factor, consider having what’s called an opportunistic salpingectomy—the prophylactic removal of fallopian tubes if and when they are already having another abdominal surgery.

Her decision is backed by emerging science: most high-grade serous ovarian cancers originate in the fallopian tubes. Removing them can significantly reduce risk, especially when done preventively in people who are already undergoing surgery for another reason and are finished with childbearing.

There’s very little in medicine that gets you an 80% risk reduction. It’s remarkable,” said Dr. Hanley, Associate Professor at the University of British Columbia. “It’s exciting, as for so many years we have not had a lot of cancer prevention that was not lifestyle-focused.

What the Data Shows

A recent study of nearly 80,000 women found that those who had a salpingectomy had an 80% lower risk of developing ovarian cancer compared to those who didn’t. And as OCRA previously reported, a decades-long clinical trial based in the UK found that screening and symptoms awareness do not save lives.

OCRA’s Role in Closing the Gap

OCRA is committed to driving prevention awareness, research funding, and education to ensure more patients have access to this potentially lifesaving option. In 2023, OCRA released a groundbreaking Ovarian Cancer Screening and Symptom Awareness Statement in 2023, which was endorsed by the Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO).

This is a systemic problem,” OCRA’s Audra Moran told Fortune. “It will take true cultural change within the medical community and beyond to solve.

OCRA encourages healthcare providers to discuss salpingectomy as a routine preventive option, and patients to ask about it—especially during surgeries like hysterectomy, gallbladder removal, or cesarean delivery.

What You Can Do

If you are finished having children and are planning an abdominal surgery, consider asking your doctor whether salpingectomy is right for you. The procedure adds little risk or recovery time, and does not affect hormone levels or ovarian function.

Those with genetic risk—such as a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation—may want to consider salpingectomy even without a separate planned surgery.

Explore OCRA’s free genetic testing program.
Learn more about BRCA and hereditary ovarian cancer.