Psychosocial impact of BRCA testing in young Black breast cancer survivors. Issue 12 (9th October 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Gonzalez, Brian D.; Hoogland, Aasha I.; Kasting, Monica L.; Cragun, Deborah; Kim, Jongphil; Ashing, Kimlin; Holt, Cheryl L.; Hughes Halbert, Chanita; Pal, Tuya; Vadaparampil, Susan T.
• Is Part Of: Psycho-oncology. Volume 27:Issue 12(2018)
• Page Start: 2778
• Page End: 2785
• Publication Date: 2018-10-09
• Subjects: anxiety -- Black -- breast cancer survivor -- cancer -- distress -- genetic counseling -- genetic testing -- health disparities -- oncology -- psychosocial outcomes; Cancer -- Psychological aspects -- Periodicals; Cancer -- Social aspects -- Periodicals; Neoplasms -- psychology -- Periodicals; 616.9940019
• DOI: 10.1002/pon.4887
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1057-9249

Abstract

Abstract: Objective: Prior studies demonstrating minimal psychological consequences for women receiving genetic counseling/genetic testing (GC/GT) for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer rely on predominantly Caucasian women. We conducted a prospective follow‐up of a subset of participants from a population‐based study of Black breast cancer (BC) survivors receiving GC/GT for BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations. Methods: Black women with invasive BC at age ≤ 50 years diagnosed between 2009 and 2012 were recruited through the Florida Cancer Registry. Participants ( n = 215, age M = 44.7, SD = 6.2) were offered telephone pre‐ and post‐test GC, a subset completed questionnaires assessing sociodemographic, clinical, and psychosocial variables. Results: There were no baseline differences in cancer‐related distress, psychological distress, or quality of life between test result groups. Social well‐being improved in women receiving negative results ( P = .01), but no other outcomes demonstrated significant changes over time between groups. Conclusions: Our study is among the first to demonstrate minimal negative psychosocial outcomes following GC/GT among young Black BC survivors, irrespective of test results.