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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2005 Sep 29.
Published in final edited form as: JAMA. 2004 Jul 28;292(4):442–452. doi: 10.1001/jama.292.4.442

Table 4.

Postintervention Knowledge Scores: Percentage of Correct Responses by Group

Question Correct Answer Counselor Group (n = 105) Computer Group (n = 106) Difference PValue
If a woman has a BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation, the chance of passing it down to her child is 1 in 2 73 96 23 <.001
Having one’s ovaries removed will definitely prevent ovarian cancer False 59 80 21 .001
About 1 in 10 women have an altered BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene False 50 71 21 .002
For a woman in the general population, the chance (or risk) of getting breast cancer at some time during her life is about 12% (1 in 8) True 84 99 15 <.001
Most women with breast cancer have a BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation False 80 93 13 .005
A father can pass down a BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation to his daughter True 87 99 12 .001
All women who have an altered (defective) BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene will get breast cancer False 94 99 5 .05
A woman who has a sister with an altered BRCA1 gene has a 50% chance (1 in 2) of also having this altered BRCA1 gene True 82 94 12 .006
About one half of all cases of breast cancer in the United States are related to mutations in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes False 73 85 12 .04
A woman who has her breasts removed can still get breast cancer True 78 90 12 .02
The purpose of a genetic test for breast cancer susceptibility is to detect breast cancer when it is too small to be detected through other methods, such as breast examination or mammography False 82 92 10 .04
Genetic testing for breast cancer susceptibility involves which of the following? None of the above 90 97 7 .04
Prophylactic mastectomy is an operation to remove: Healthy breast tissue without tumor 81 88 7 .20
A woman who does NOT have a BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation can still get breast cancer True 96 99 3 .17
A person with a negative BRCA1 or BRCA2 test result may still have a mutation in a breast cancer susceptibility gene True 88 89 1 .81
A woman who does NOT have an altered BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene can still get breast or ovarian cancer True 98 99 1 .56
For a woman with a BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation, the chance (or risk) of getting breast cancer at some time during her life is about 1% (1 in 100) False 73 74 0 .97
A woman who has an altered BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene has a higher risk of ovarian cancer True 95 95 0 .96
Compared with a woman in the general population, what is the chance (or risk) of getting breast cancer for a woman with a BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation? Higher 96 92 −4 .25
A woman who gets breast cancer at age 70 y is more likely to have an altered BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene than a woman who gets breast cancer at age 40 y False 88 83 −5 .26