Women with a BRCA-related breast cancer are able to cut their risk of dying in half by getting a double mastectomy, according to a recent study The Los Angeles Times reported.

Researchers from the Women's College Hospital in Canada found that removing both breasts may be an effective "first-line" treatment for women with early-stage breast cancer who carry a BRCA1 or BRCA2 genetic mutation. They also found that they are 48 percent less likely to die of breast cancer within 20 years of diagnosis compared to women who have a single mastectomy.

The BRCA1/2 genes belong to a class of genes that typically act to protect individuals from acquiring cancer, yet women who inherit a mutated form of the genes have a high risk of developing breast and ovarian cancers.

"Women with a BRCA mutation have a 60 to 70 percent chance of developing breast cancer in their lifetime, and once diagnosed, a further 34 percent chance of developing breast cancer in the opposite breast within 15 years," Kelly Metcalfe, an adjunct scientist at Women's College Research Institute and professor at the University of Toronto, said in a statement. "For these women, we need to think about treating the first breast cancer, but also about preventing a second breast cancer."

For the study, investigators compared the survival rates of women with BRCA-related breast cancers by analyzing medical data of 390 women with stage one or two breast cancer and a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation. The women were required to have been initially treated with a single or double mastectomy.

During their study, researchers also found that at 20 years, the survival rate was 88 percent for women with a double mastectomy and 66 percent for women with a single mastectomy.

"Our study's results provide evidence that in order to improve survival in women with BRCA-associated breast cancer, we need to prevent new breast cancers from developing after an initial diagnosis," Dr. Steven Narod, a co-author of the study and a senior scientist at Women's College Research Institute, said in a statement.

Narod said the study highlights the importance of providing genetic testing for BRCA1 and BRCA2 at the time of breast cancer diagnosis if appropriate.

"This genetic information could help women make decisions that ultimately may increase their chance of surviving breast cancer," he added.