Attitudes, Perceptions, and Use of Cancer-based Genetic Testing Among Healthy U.S. Adults and Those With Prostate or Breast/Ovarian Cancer

Sameer Thakker; Stacy Loeb; Veda N Giri; Marc A Bjurlin; Richard S Matulewicz

doi:10.1097/UPJ.0000000000000352

Attitudes, Perceptions, and Use of Cancer-based Genetic Testing Among Healthy U.S. Adults and Those With Prostate or Breast/Ovarian Cancer

Urol Pract. 2023 Jan;10(1):26-32. doi: 10.1097/UPJ.0000000000000352. Epub 2022 Sep 27.

Authors

Sameer Thakker¹, Stacy Loeb², Veda N Giri³, Marc A Bjurlin⁴, Richard S Matulewicz⁵

Affiliations

¹ New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, New York.
² Department of Urology and Department of Population Health, New York University Langone Health, New York, New York.
³ Cancer Risk Assessment and Clinical Cancer Genetics, Department of Medical Oncology, Cancer Biology, and Urology, Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
⁴ Department of Urology, Lineberger Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
⁵ Department of Surgery, Urology Service, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York.

PMID: 37103438
DOI: 10.1097/UPJ.0000000000000352

Abstract

Introduction: Differences in public awareness and uptake of genetic testing among patients with inheritable cancers are not well understood. The purpose of this study is to examine self-reported rates of undergoing cancer-specific genetic testing in patients with breast/ovarian cancer vs prostate cancer from a nationally representative sample of U.S.

Patients: Secondary objectives include examining sources of genetic testing information and perceptions of genetic testing for both patient populations as well as the general public.

Methods: Data from the National Cancer Institute's Health Information National Trends Survey 5, Cycle 4 were used to generate nationally representative estimates of adults living in the U.S. Our exposure of interest was patient reported cancer history categorized as having: (1) either breast or ovarian cancer, (2) prostate cancer, or (3) no history of cancer. χ² testing was used to compare differences among categorical variables.

Results: In a nationally representative sample of 231.7 million adults, 3.7 million adults reported a history of breast/ovarian cancer while 1.5 million patients reported a history of prostate cancer; 52.3% of patients with breast/ovarian cancer vs 1.0% with prostate cancer reported undergoing cancer-specific genetic testing (P = .001). Patients with prostate cancer were less aware of cancer-specific genetic testing than either individuals with breast/ovarian cancer or adults without a cancer history (19.7% vs 64.7% vs 35.8%, respectively; P = .003). Health care professionals were the most common source of genetic testing information for patients with breast/ovarian cancer whereas the Internet was the most common source for patients with prostate cancer.

Conclusions: Our results suggest a lack of awareness and limited utilization of genetic testing among patients with prostate cancer relative to breast/ovarian cancer. Patients with prostate cancer cite the Internet and social media as sources of information, which may be an avenue for more optimal dissemination of evidence-based information.

Keywords: genetic testing; germ-line mutation; prostatic neoplasms.

Publication types

Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Breast Neoplasms* / diagnosis
Female
Genetic Testing / methods
Humans
Male
Ovarian Neoplasms* / diagnosis
Prostate
Prostatic Neoplasms* / diagnosis