Information for health professionals

PROTECTOR is a multicentre, national prospective cohort controlled surgical study for premenopausal women who are at increased risk of developing ovarian cancer either because of a genetic mutation (BRCA1/BRCA2/RAD51C/RAD51D/BRIP1) or a strong family history of ovarian and breast cancer or ovarian cancer alone. 

PROTECTOR has three arms: ‘Risk reducing salpingo-oophorectomy’ (RRSO), ‘Risk reducing early salpingectomy with delayed oophorectomy’ (RRESDO) and ‘Controls’ (no surgery). Participants will be able to self-select which study arm they wish to participate in. The study is being co-ordinated from Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London, and is funded by Barts and The London Charity and Rosetrees Trust. 

The primary objective for PROTECTOR was initially  to evaluate the impact on sexual function with RRESDO as a two-step ovarian cancer prevention strategy in premenopausal women at high-risk of ovarian cancer. The study has now been extended, with the additional primary objective to evaluate the level of ovarian cancer risk reduction of early salpingectomy in high-risk women. 
 
So far we have 39 PROTECTOR sites across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Our recruitment target is 2500 total participants . If you would like to become a recruiting centre please contact our team. To enrol a patient into the PROTECTOR study, please refer to your nearest recruitment centre using our interactive map.