PROPHYLACTIC MASTECTOMY IN THE PREVENTION OF BREAST CANCER IN WOMEN WITH BRCA1 GENE MUTATION: INTEGRATIVE REVIEW

Abstract

Breast cancer is a multifactorial disease caused by genetic and environmental factors and mutations in the BRCA1 gene, located in the long arm of chromosome 17, are the main cause of hereditary breast cancer. Several methods of preventing this malignant neoplasm have been studied, including prophylactic mastectomy. The objective of the research was to analyze the scientific evidence about the use of prophylactic mastectomy for the prevention of breast cancer in patients diagnosed with a mutation in the BRCA1 gene. This is an integrative, quantitative and exploratory literature review in online databases using the PICo strategy. Data analysis was performed through systematic reading and analysis of the content of the articles, through which 8 articles from different journals, written in English and consistent with the study objectives and inclusion criteria, were selected. Given the themes of the studies, it was possible to divide them into two categories: agreement on the effectiveness of prophylactic mastectomy as an efficient method for preventing breast cancer in women with mutations in the BRCA1 gene; disagreement about the efficacy of prophylactic mastectomy for the prevention of breast cancer in women with BRCA1 gene mutation. It can be concluded that, although prophylactic mastectomy has expanded its acceptance by health professionals and women at risk of developing breast cancer, there are still few studies that prove that the effectiveness of this method surpasses the other existing and less invasive ones, compensating for the risks and post-surgical results.