Genetic testing for breast or ovarian cancer risk may be greatly underutilized
Thursday, May 21, 2009 - 13:07
in Health & Medicine
Although a test for gene mutations known to significantly increase the risk of hereditary breast or ovarian cancer has been available for more than a decade, a new study finds that few women with family histories of these cancers are even discussing genetic testing with their physicians or other health care providers. In a report in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, which has been released online, investigators from the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Institute of Health Policy and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute note that their findings illustrate the challenges of bringing genetic information into real-world clinical practice.