Interest in, willingness-to-pay for and willingness-to-recommend genetic testing for prostate cancer among affected men after radical prostatectomy

Fam Cancer. 2019 Apr;18(2):221-230. doi: 10.1007/s10689-018-0101-7.

Abstract

Knowledge about interest in genetic testing and willingness-to-pay for a genetic test among men affected from prostate cancer (PCa) is limited. This study aimed to gain insight into men's attitudes in genetic testing for PCa. 4699 men with PCa from the German multicenter prospective database "Familial Prostate Cancer" were included. Interest in, Willingness-to-pay for and Willingness-to-recommend a genetic test for PCa were quantified. Associations with several sociodemographic and psychosocial variables were evaluated by logistic regression. 76.8% of the affected men with a median follow-up of 12.9 years were interested in a genetic test for PCa. Newly identified variables significantly associated with interest were having sons (OR 1.66, p < 0.001) and a high perceived severity of the PCa (OR 1.40, p < 0.001). 19% of men were willing to pay more than 500 € for a genetic test. Men with higher education, men with a better self-reported economic situation and men with a lethal PCa in their family were more likely to be willing to pay a larger sum for a test. 84.9% of men were willing to recommend a test to their relatives. Interest in genetic testing for PCa among affected men was generally high with most men willing to recommend a test to their relatives. Various characteristics associated with interest and willingness-to-pay larger sums for genetic testing were uncovered and need to be addressed when designing both future educational material and genetic tests for PCa.

Keywords: Family history; Genetic testing; Genomic testing; Interest; Prostate cancer.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Genetic Testing / economics
  • Genetic Testing / statistics & numerical data*
  • Health Expenditures / statistics & numerical data
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Medical History Taking
  • Middle Aged
  • Patient Acceptance of Health Care / psychology
  • Patient Acceptance of Health Care / statistics & numerical data*
  • Patient Education as Topic
  • Prospective Studies
  • Prostatectomy
  • Prostatic Neoplasms / diagnosis*
  • Prostatic Neoplasms / economics
  • Prostatic Neoplasms / genetics
  • Prostatic Neoplasms / surgery
  • Self Report / statistics & numerical data*
  • Severity of Illness Index
  • Socioeconomic Factors