Study Reports Many Breast Cancer Survivors Not Receiving Genetic Counseling and Testing

A new study from the University of Michigan Health Rogel Cancer Center has found that “many breast cancer survivors who meet criteria for genetic counseling and testing are not receiving it.” However, among those who do get testing, “nearly two-thirds who have a genetic variant are reaching out to family members to talk about their results.” Michigan Medicine has the news.

Researchers surveyed 1,412 women “seven months and again six years after they were diagnosed with early stage breast cancer;” the patients were identified using Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results registries in Georgia and Los Angeles County. The women were asked “whether they received genetic counseling or testing and if so, whether they talked with relatives about results.”

The tests themselves have begun to include “more genes that could help guide not only treatment but follow-up care and screening. Results can also impact family members who may also be at increased risk of cancer.”

According to the study, “nearly three-quarters of patients who were eligible for genetic testing at diagnosis received it over the study period. Just over half of patients who had indications for testing during follow-up care received it and about a third with no indications received testing.” Researchers also found that “few people were interested in direct-to-consumer genetic tests, which are not as sophisticated as clinical-based genetic testing and counseling.”