• Douglas E Levy, Judy E Garber, and Alexandra E Shields.
• Institute for Health Policy, Massachusetts General Hospital, 50 Staniford St., Suite 901, Boston, MA 02114, USA. dlevy3@partners.org
• J Gen Intern Med. 2009 Jul 1; 24 (7): 822-8.

BackgroundBRCA1/2 testing is one of the most well-established genetic tests to predict cancer risk. Guidelines are available to help clinicians determine who will benefit most from testing.ObjectiveTo identify women at high risk of hereditary breast and ovarian cancer and estimate their awareness of and experience with genetic testing for cancer risk.DesignAnalyses of the 2000 and 2005 National Health Interview Surveys.ParticipantsWomen with no personal history of breast or ovarian cancer (n = 35,116).MeasurementsRisk of hereditary breast or ovarian cancer based on self-reported family history of cancer and national guidelines; self-reported awareness of genetic testing for cancer risk; discussion of genetic testing for cancer risk with a health professional; having undergone genetic testing for breast/ovarian cancer risk.ResultsUsing guideline criteria, 0.96% of women were identified as being at high risk of hereditary breast and ovarian cancer. Among high-risk women, 54.04% were aware of genetic testing for cancer risk, 10.39% had discussed genetic testing with a health professional, and 1.41% had undergone testing for breast/ovarian cancer risk. Adjusting for survey year, high-risk women were more likely than average-risk women to have heard of genetic testing for cancer risk (RR, 1.3, 95% CI 1.2-1.4), to have discussed genetic testing with a health professional (RR 5.2, 95% CI 3.6-7.4), and to have undergone genetic testing for breast/ovarian cancer risk (RR 6.8, 95% CI 2.6-18.0).ConclusionsWe find low provision of guideline-recommended advice to women for whom testing may be appropriate and of significant clinical benefit.

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