Psychooncology
September 2025
Objective: Culturally targeted narrative education is a promising approach to cancer prevention and control. This study evaluates the uptake of genetic counseling and testing (GCT) in Latinas at risk for hereditary breast and ovarian cancers (HBOC) after watching a culturally targeted narrative video and being navigated to GCT services.
Methods: Latina women at increased risk for HBOC were recruited through community-based organizations.
Background: Although scanxiety is common and impactful for people with advanced lung cancer, few interventions address this psychosocial concern.
Aims: To create a stress management program for scanxiety.
Methods: We conducted a structured intervention adaptation process guided by the ADAPT-ITT framework.
Purpose: Despite growing research on financial toxicity among cancer survivors, large gaps remain in understanding how to intervene to minimize financial toxicity. Uptake and efficacy of interventions mitigating cancer financial toxicity, though promising, remain limited and inconsistent. To date, survivor preferences for financial toxicity interventions are underexplored.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: When a pathogenic BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation is identified in a family, cascade genetic testing of family members is recommended since the results may inform screening or treatment decisions in men and women. However, rates of cascade testing are low, and men are considerably less likely than women to pursue cascade testing. To facilitate cascade testing in men, we designed a Web-based genetic education tool that addressed barriers to cascade testing, was individually tailored, delivered proactively, and could be used in lieu of pretest genetic counseling to streamline the cascade testing process.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Natl Compr Canc Netw
December 2023
Background: Germline genetic testing is recommended for men with metastatic or high-risk prostate cancer to inform treatment and risk management for other cancers and inform genetic testing in at-risk relatives. However, relatively few patients with prostate cancer undergo genetic testing. Given the low rate of testing and increasing demands on genetic service providers, strategies are needed that reduce barriers to testing while conserving genetic counseling resources.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPharmacogenomics
November 2023
Identify oncology healthcare providers' attitudes toward barriers to and use cases for pharmacogenomic (PGx) testing and implications for prescribing anticancer and supportive care medications. A questionnaire was designed and disseminated to 71 practicing oncology providers across the MedStar Health System. 25 of 70 (36%) eligible oncology providers were included.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: The assumption that patient-provider communication may mediate patients' sense of control over cancer to affect health outcomes has limited evidence. This study examines whether patient-perceived cancer care communication quality (PPCQ) mediates stress appraisal and coping behavior, affecting physical functioning across different racial groups.
Methods: Two hundred and twenty Chinese American and 216 non-Hispanic White (NHW) women (ages 28-80) with stage 0-III breast cancer, 1-5 years post-diagnosis, and without recurrence, enrolled and completed a cross-sectional telephone survey.
Background: Genetic counseling and testing (GCT) informs risk reduction and management strategies in women at risk for carrying a pathogenic variation in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 (BRCA1/2) genes. African American (hereinafter referred to as Black) women are less likely to receive GCT services for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC). The objective of this work was to examine existing literature regarding successful culturally tailored GCT interventions for Black women and to describe the rationale and protocol for a randomized feasibility trial to test the efficacy of a culturally tailored GCT intervention.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Genet Couns
October 2023
Genetic counseling and testing (GCT) inform cancer management for persons at risk for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC). Community-based organizations (CBOs) may play a role in identifying at-risk Latinx individuals to connect them to GCT but data are lacking. Two academic centers and their four CBO partners planned to implement a validated questionnaire for HBOC risk screening ("HBOC risk screening tool").
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTelephone genetic counseling (TGC) is accepted as standard clinical care for people seeking hereditary cancer risk assessment. TGC has been shown to be non-inferior to in-person genetic counseling, but trials have been conducted with a predominantly highly educated, non-Hispanic White population. This article describes the process of culturally adapting a TGC protocol and visual aid booklet for Spanish-preferring Latina breast cancer survivors at risk for hereditary breast and ovarian cancers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Recent studies, including a meta-analysis of 88 trials, have shown higher than expected rates of recurrence and death in hormone receptor-positive breast cancer. These new findings suggest a need to re-evaluate the use of risk-reducing medication to avoid invasive breast cancer and breast cancer death in high-risk women.
Methods: We adapted an established Cancer Intervention and Surveillance Modeling Network model to evaluate the lifetime benefits and harms of risk-reducing medication in women with a ≥ 3% 5-year risk of developing breast cancer according to the Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium risk calculator.
Pathogenic variants in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 (BRCA1/2) genes are associated with elevated cancer risks in men and women. Due to a founder effect, Ashkenazi Jewish individuals are at higher risk for carrying three specific BRCA1/2 pathogenic variants. There have been recent calls for population screening in this population because many carriers do not have family histories suggestive of hereditary cancer.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: As germline genetic referral becomes increasingly routine as part of the care of newly diagnosed breast cancer patients, it is important to understand the psychosocial impact of genetic counseling at the time of diagnosis. We examined the psychosocial and quality of life (QOL) impact of providing proactive rapid genetic counseling and testing (RGCT) in the immediate aftermath of a breast cancer diagnosis.
Methods: We randomized 330 patients in a 2:1 ratio to proactive rapid genetic counseling (RGCT; N = 222) versus usual care (UC; N = 108).
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the direct and indirect effects of a web-based, Protection Motivation Theory (PMT)-informed breast cancer education and decision support tool on intentions for risk-reducing medication and breast MRI among high-risk women. Women with ≥ 1.67% 5-year breast cancer risk (N = 995) were randomized to (1) control or (2) the PMT-informed intervention.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn this study an interactive decision aid (DA) for men diagnosed with localized prostate cancer was adapted, extended and pre-tested. The DA's prototype was based on a literature review and other empirically tested DAs. Semi-structured interviews with 12 men (age 65-80) diagnosed with localized prostate cancer were conducted to get feedback on content, usability, and the DA's layout.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Telegenetics has become the predominant mode of cancer genetic counseling during the COVID-19 pandemic. We sought to identify potential patient-level contraindicators for telegenetic genetic counseling.
Methods: We analyzed post-counseling (pre-result disclosure) follow-up data from a randomized noninferiority trial of a telephone genetic counseling versus usual care genetic counseling.
J Womens Health (Larchmt)
November 2021
Breast density increases breast cancer risk and decreases mammographic detection. We evaluated a personalized web-based intervention designed to improve breast cancer risk communication between women and their providers. This was a secondary outcome analysis of an online randomized trial.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTransl Behav Med
January 2022
Cancer health disparities remain a significant problem in the USA, compounded by lack of access to care, language barriers and systemic biases in health care. These disparities are particularly evident in areas such as genetics/genomics. For example, Latinas at high risk for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC) have extremely low rates of genetic counseling/testing.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: To evaluate timing and outcomes of BRCA testing and definitive surgical treatment among patients with newly diagnosed breast cancer.
Methods: Patient-reported (n = 1,381) and deidentified health-plan (n = 2,369) data were analyzed from a consecutive national series of 3,750 women whose healthcare providers ordered BRCA testing between March 2014 and June 2015, within 1 year following breast cancer diagnosis.
Results: Among 1,209 respondents, 54.
JNCI Cancer Spectr
February 2021
Background: Limited evidence exists about how to communicate breast density-informed breast cancer risk to women at elevated risk to motivate cancer prevention.
Methods: We conducted a randomized controlled trial evaluating a web-based intervention incorporating personalized breast cancer risk, information on chemoprevention, and values clarification on chemoprevention uptake vs active control. Eligible women aged 40-69 years with normal mammograms and elevated 5-year breast cancer risk were recruited from Kaiser Permanente Washington from February 2017 to May 2018.
Purpose: We evaluated demographic and clinical characteristics associated with participation in a clinical trial testing the efficacy of an online tool to support breast cancer risk communication and decision support for risk mitigation to determine the generalizability of trial results.
Methods: Eligible women were members of Kaiser Permanente Washington aged 40-69 years with a recent normal screening mammogram, heterogeneously or extremely dense breasts and a calculated risk of > 1.67% based on the Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium 5-year breast cancer risk model.
This paper presents a process evaluation of a culturally targeted narrative video about hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC) for Latina women at risk for HBOC. Spanish-speaking Latina women at risk for HBOC participated in a single arm study (n = 40). Participants watched the video developed by the authors and responded to surveys.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Surg Oncol
August 2020
Background: Breast density is an important breast cancer risk factor and a focus of recent national and state health policy efforts. This article describes breast density awareness, knowledge, and communication among participants in a health system-embedded trial with clinically elevated breast cancer risk 1 year before state-mandated density disclosure.
Methods: Trial participants' demographics and prior health history were ascertained from electronic health records.
Breast Cancer Res Treat
February 2020
Purpose: Recent trends indicate increased use of contralateral prophylactic mastectomy (CPM) among newly diagnosed breast cancer patients, particularly those who test positive for a pathogenic variant in the BRCA1/2 genes. However, the rate of CPM among patients who test negative or choose not to be tested is surprisingly high. We aimed to identify patient predictors of CPM following breast cancer diagnosis among such patients.
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