Background: Risk-reducing mastectomy (RRM) decreases breast cancer (BC) risk in BRCA1/2 mutation carriers by up to 95%, but the Italian attitude towards this procedure is reluctant.
Patients and methods: This is an observational study with retrospective design, using quantitative and qualitative research methods, aimed at evaluating the attitude towards RRM by rapid genetic counselling and testing (RGCT), at the time of BC diagnosis, compared with traditional genetic counselling and testing (TGCT), after previous BC surgery. Secondary aims were to investigate patient satisfaction after RRM and the rate of occult tumour in healthy breasts. A total of 1168 patients were evaluated: 1058 received TGCT, whereas 110 underwent RGCT.
Results: In TGCT, among 1058 patients, 209 (19.7%) mutation carriers were identified, with the rate of RRM being 4.7% (10 of 209). Conversely in RGCT, among 110 patients, 36 resulted positive, of which, 15 (41.7%) underwent bilateral mastectomy at the BC surgery time, showing an overall good satisfaction, measured by interpretative phenomenological analysis 12 months after the intervention.
Conclusions: Our study shows that RGCT in patients with a hereditary profile is associated with a high rate of RRM at the BC surgery time, this being the pathway offered within a multidisciplinary organization.
Keywords: BRCA1/2 mutation carriers; acceptability; genetic counselling; risk-reducing mastectomy.