Angelina Jolie's mastectomy led to breast cancer test increase
The Hollywood actress had the operation to reduce the risk of getting the disease after doctors told her she had an 87% chance.
Thursday 15 December 2016 10:41, UK
Angelina Jolie's decision to publicise her double mastectomy led to a sharp rise in breast cancer genetic testing, researchers have said.
The star announced in May 2013 that
"My doctors estimated that I had an 87% risk of breast cancer and a 50% risk of ovarian cancer, although the risk is different in the case of each woman," she wrote in the New York Times.
Women who carry the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genetic faults have a higher risk of breast and ovarian cancer.
"Once I knew that this was my reality, I decided to be proactive and to minimise the risk as much I could," she said.
"I made a decision to have a preventive double mastectomy."
In 2015, an NHS clinic in Manchester to women being inspired by Jolie's decision.
Now, experts in the US have said they found a steep increase in breast cancer gene testing in the weeks following her announcement - but no change in overall mastectomy rates.
The team of researchers looked into data concerning nine million insured American women aged 18 to 64, and said they found a 64% increase in BRCA testing rates in the 15 working days after Jolie's editorial was published.
The Hollywood actress, who is one of the world's highest paid performers, says the cost of getting tested for BRCA1 and 2 is more than $3,000 (£2,390) in the US.
The actress says this "remains an obstacle for many women".
NHS guidelines in the UK recommend that anyone who is at "high risk" of developing breast cancer at some point in their life should be gene tested.