Why high-risk breast cancer patients are foregoing genetic testing and counseling

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Newly revealed spinal column and vertebrae of Selam, a 3.3 million-year-old Australopithecus afarensis fossil. Credit: The University of Chicago.

Doctors often fail to recommend genetic testing for breast-cancer patients, even those who are at high risk for mutations linked to ovarian and other cancers, according to a study.

Researchers said the findings…are troubling because genetic tests can help guide women’s choice of treatments for existing disease, as well as point to ways to reduce the risk of future cancer.

“Genetic testing can be a powerful tool for certain women,” said study author Reshma Jagsi, a radiation oncologist at the University of Michigan Health System. “It is worrisome to see so many of these women at highest risk for mutations failing even to have a visit focused on genetic counseling.”

Although two-thirds of the women reported wanting genetic testing, less than a third actually got it, the study found. About 8 in 10 women at highest risk for BRCA mutations — because of family history or ancestry — said they had wanted testing, but only a little more than half received it.

Many of the women said they didn’t get tested because their doctors never recommended it. A smaller number said the testing was too expensive.

[The study can be found here.]

The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion, and analysis. Read full, original post: Many high-risk patients with breast cancer aren’t getting genetic testing. Here’s why.

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