Attitudes, Perceptions, and Use of Cancer-based Genetic Testing Among Healthy U.S. Adults and Those With Prostate or Breast/Ovarian Cancer
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. Secondary objectives include examining sources of genetic testing information and perceptions of genetic testing for both patient populations as well as the general public. 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. χ 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 ( 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.