Angelina Jolie's Revelations About Breast Cancer Surgery Saw Rise In Genetic Tests But Is All Really Well?

By Shubham Ghosh - 18 Dec '16 06:48AM

Award-winning Hollywood actor and humanitarian Angelina Jolie's revelation about her breast cancer surgery three years ago led to a rise in tests for a gene that leads to a rise in the deadly disease, a study published in The BMJ has confirmed recently.

The 41-year-old actor said in an op-ed in The New York Times that she had decided to undergo surgery to minimize her chances of getting affected by a disease which has claimed a number of members of her family, including her mother Mercia Lynne Bertrand in 2007, said an IANS report.

Jolie, who recently filed for divorce from her third husband and actor Brad Pitt, said in the article that her doctors had warned that she had very high risk of breast cancer and high risk of ovarian cancer and hence she went for preventive double mastectomy.

The study also added that researchers from Harvard Medical School in Boston said Jolie's testimonial saw a spike in genetic testing for breast cancer though the rates of mastectomy did not go up among women who chose BRCA gene testing. This meant that those who underwent the genetic test carried less risk of mutation.

But the important point to drive home is that though endorsements by celebrities can boost the use of health care services but they may not successfully target those who require such treatments.

Lead investigator of the study, Sunita Desai from Harvard Medical School in Boston said: "Our findings underscore celebrity endorsements as a powerful influence on health-related behaviors, but they also show that such endorsements do not necessarily target those most at risk for developing a disease."

It said when people seek a test after seeing a celebrity endorsement, it becomes very important for the doctors to assess the patient's history (medical and family) and explain the pros and cons of undergoing or foregoing tests based on individual's circumstances, researchers said, according to the study which got published in December 2016.