Skip to main content
American Journal of Public Health logoLink to American Journal of Public Health
. 1995 Aug;85(8 Pt 1):1133–1135. doi: 10.2105/ajph.85.8_pt_1.1133

Women's receptivity to testing for a genetic susceptibility to breast cancer.

H Chaliki 1, S Loader 1, J C Levenkron 1, W Logan-Young 1, W J Hall 1, P T Rowley 1
PMCID: PMC1615827  PMID: 7625512

Abstract

Four hundred eighty-four patients undergoing mammography and 498 patients visiting their obstetrician-gynecologist were asked whether they would take a breast cancer 1 (BRCA1) test to detect a genetic susceptibility to breast cancer. More than 90% in both groups said they would take the test. Women were more likely to accept if they were regularly having breast examinations by a physician, believed that mammography effectively detects early breast cancer, and believed that early breast cancer is curable. If shown to have inherited a susceptibility, many reported that they would be very anxious, would want the test repeated, would examine their breasts more often than monthly, and would want mammography more often than yearly. Many also reported that they would recommend testing to relatives.

Full text

PDF
1134

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Biesecker B. B., Boehnke M., Calzone K., Markel D. S., Garber J. E., Collins F. S., Weber B. L. Genetic counseling for families with inherited susceptibility to breast and ovarian cancer. JAMA. 1993 Apr 21;269(15):1970–1974. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Castilla L. H., Couch F. J., Erdos M. R., Hoskins K. F., Calzone K., Garber J. E., Boyd J., Lubin M. B., Deshano M. L., Brody L. C. Mutations in the BRCA1 gene in families with early-onset breast and ovarian cancer. Nat Genet. 1994 Dec;8(4):387–391. doi: 10.1038/ng1294-387. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Easton D. F., Bishop D. T., Ford D., Crockford G. P. Genetic linkage analysis in familial breast and ovarian cancer: results from 214 families. The Breast Cancer Linkage Consortium. Am J Hum Genet. 1993 Apr;52(4):678–701. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Fletcher S. W., Black W., Harris R., Rimer B. K., Shapiro S. Report of the International Workshop on Screening for Breast Cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1993 Oct 20;85(20):1644–1656. doi: 10.1093/jnci/85.20.1644. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Friedman L. S., Ostermeyer E. A., Szabo C. I., Dowd P., Lynch E. D., Rowell S. E., King M. C. Confirmation of BRCA1 by analysis of germline mutations linked to breast and ovarian cancer in ten families. Nat Genet. 1994 Dec;8(4):399–404. doi: 10.1038/ng1294-399. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Futreal P. A., Liu Q., Shattuck-Eidens D., Cochran C., Harshman K., Tavtigian S., Bennett L. M., Haugen-Strano A., Swensen J., Miki Y. BRCA1 mutations in primary breast and ovarian carcinomas. Science. 1994 Oct 7;266(5182):120–122. doi: 10.1126/science.7939630. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Hall J. M., Lee M. K., Newman B., Morrow J. E., Anderson L. A., Huey B., King M. C. Linkage of early-onset familial breast cancer to chromosome 17q21. Science. 1990 Dec 21;250(4988):1684–1689. doi: 10.1126/science.2270482. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Kerlikowske K., Grady D., Barclay J., Sickles E. A., Eaton A., Ernster V. Positive predictive value of screening mammography by age and family history of breast cancer. JAMA. 1993 Nov 24;270(20):2444–2450. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. King M. C., Rowell S., Love S. M. Inherited breast and ovarian cancer. What are the risks? What are the choices? JAMA. 1993 Apr 21;269(15):1975–1980. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Lerman C., Schwartz M. Adherence and psychological adjustment among women at high risk for breast cancer. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 1993 Nov;28(2):145–155. doi: 10.1007/BF00666427. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Miki Y., Swensen J., Shattuck-Eidens D., Futreal P. A., Harshman K., Tavtigian S., Liu Q., Cochran C., Bennett L. M., Ding W. A strong candidate for the breast and ovarian cancer susceptibility gene BRCA1. Science. 1994 Oct 7;266(5182):66–71. doi: 10.1126/science.7545954. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Quaid K. A., Morris M. Reluctance to undergo predictive testing: the case of Huntington disease. Am J Med Genet. 1993 Jan 1;45(1):41–45. doi: 10.1002/ajmg.1320450112. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Simard J., Tonin P., Durocher F., Morgan K., Rommens J., Gingras S., Samson C., Leblanc J. F., Bélanger C., Dion F. Common origins of BRCA1 mutations in Canadian breast and ovarian cancer families. Nat Genet. 1994 Dec;8(4):392–398. doi: 10.1038/ng1294-392. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from American Journal of Public Health are provided here courtesy of American Public Health Association

RESOURCES