A study has found that the rate of mortality in women with BRCA-related breast cancer who have a double mastectomy is half within 20 years as compared to those who choose to remove the cancerous breast only.

The research has been published in the British Medical Journal. The study suggests that for women with early stage breast cancer who carry a BRCA1 or BRCA2 genetic mutation, a double mastectomy may be an effective first-line treatment.

To arrive at the conclusion, the researchers examined the medical histories of 390 women with early-stage breast cancer with a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation.

According to Kelly Metcalfe, a scientist at the Women's College Research Institute who led the study said that those who had both breasts removed had 48 per cent more chances of living than women with a single mastectomy.

At 20 years, for those women who had both breasts removed the survival rate was 88 per cent and 66 per cent for women with only single breast removed.In other words, 79 women who died of the cancer, 18 had undergone a double mastectomy and 61 had only their one breast removed.

BRCA1-related breast cancer can be destructive, making it more difficult to treat. This study observed those women who had already been diagnosed with BRCA-related breast cancer to check which treatment benefited them the most.

In a supplementary editorial, an associate professor of epidemiology at Harvard Medical School, Karin Michels believed that the decision to remove a healthy breast is a difficult one to make. She added that women should weigh other options and discuss it with their doctor. She also said that larger researches are required to confirm the results of the current study.