“Angelina Jolie Effect” Leads To Greater Breast Cancer Awareness And Rise In Unnecessary Surgeries

A U.K. doctor is reminding the world that there are two sides to the “Angelina Jolie Effect.”

Jolie shocked the world in May by revealing she had chosen to undergo a preventative double mastectomy in a New York Times op/ed column. In the piece, Jolie explained that, due to genetic predisposition, her doctors estimated her likelihood of developing breast cancer was at 87 percent.

“Once I knew that this was my reality, I decided to be proactive and to minimize the risk as much I could. I made a decision to have a preventive double mastectomy,” she wrote in the piece entitled “My Medical Choice.”

Jolie’s impact was swift, leading to a rise in breast cancer awareness dubbed the “Angelina Effect” by TIME Magazine for the May 27 cover story.

“It’s obviously a great step forward that Angelina Jolie has increased awareness of breast cancer,” said Dr. Kefah Mokbel. “But we’re seeing a large number of women requesting a preventative mastectomy for peace of mind, women who’ve been diagnosed but don’t have a genetic predisposition so wouldn’t benefit.”

“These are patients who say, ‘Can you do for me what Angelina Jolie had done?’ They’re on the increase.”

Mokbel, a consultant surgeon specialist and Lead Surgeon at the London Breast Institute, warned that doctors and patients alike need to avoid overestimating the benefits of the procedure. While Angelina Jolie carries the BRCA1 gene, which sharply increases the risk of developing breast cancer and ovarian cancer, fewer than one percent of women carry it or BRCA2, which has similar effects. The London Breast Institute’s figures show an increase in genetic testing for BRCA mutations by 67 per cent since Jolie’s public disclosure; and preventive mastectomies are up 400 percent.

“For a woman with a gene mutation or a family history, the surgery makes sense,” said Dr. Julian Kim. “For most other women who are opting to have it, it is very controversial.”

Kim, the chief of oncologic surgery at the UH Seidman Cancer Center in Cleveland, told ABC News that there is no evidence to support the idea that removing both breasts after a diagnosis of breast cancer increases survival rate. However, he admitted he understands the mindset of low-risk patients in opting for a double mastectomy.

“In my mind, if a patient is well informed about risks of having or not having the surgery, it’s often more than just survival that influences a person’s decisions,” he said.