Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 May-Jun;39(3):168-177.
doi: 10.1177/10434542211055999.

Comfort with Pharmacogenetic Testing Amongst Pediatric Oncology Providers and Their Patients

Catriona Mowbray  1 , Joyce Turner  2 , Jiaxiang Gai  3 , Shana Jacobs  1
Affiliations

Comfort with Pharmacogenetic Testing Amongst Pediatric Oncology Providers and Their Patients

Catriona Mowbray et al. J Pediatr Hematol Oncol Nurs. 2022 May-Jun.

Abstract

Background: Pharmacogenetic (PGx) testing, a component of personalized medicine, aims to ensure treatment efficacy while reducing side effects and symptoms. Before this testing becomes routine in the pediatric oncology population, nurses need to understand the knowledge and concerns of providers, patients, and family members with regard to the timing, extent, interpretation, and incorporation of PGx testing. Methods: As part of a comprehensive PGx study (larger study) for children diagnosed with cancer, we surveyed providers and caregivers of children with cancer about their knowledge of and comfort with PGx testing. Caregivers who declined to participate in the larger PGx study were also asked to participate in the survey. Chi-square tests and a two-sample t-test were used to compare variables. Results: One hundred and two participants from the larger PGx study and 12 families who refused (response rate of 77% and 54%, respectively) as well as 29 providers (88%) completed surveys. Families not on the study were less interested in and comfortable with PGx results. Both groups were concerned about health or life insurance discrimination and payment. Providers would like support in ordering PGx testing and interpreting PGx. Discussion: Providers remain wary of most PGx testing, uncomfortable with interpreting and applying the results. Families are interested in the possibilities of personalized prescribing while worried about who has access to their child's genetic information. Further education on relevant tests for providers, including nurses, and the testing process for families, including details on privacy and sharing of genetic information, appear necessary.

Keywords: education; nursing; patient & family; pediatric; pharmacogenetics.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Provider reported comfort with nonthiopurine methyltransferase pharmacogenetic (TPMT PGx) testing
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Provider thoughts on Pharmacogenetic (PGx) testing support.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Caregiver responses rating their interest in pharmacogenetic (PGx) tests for their child based on results goal
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Caregiver responses rating their comfort with use of their child's pharmacogenetic (PGx) results.
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
Caregivers rate their interest in pharmacogenetic (PGx) based on likelihood of treatment.
Figure 6.
Figure 6.
Caregiver interest in pharmacogenetic (PGX) if they could learn additional risk information.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Caudle K. E., Keeling N. J., Klein T. E., Whirl-Carrillo M., Pratt V. M., Hoffman J. M. (2018). Standardization can accelerate the adoption of pharmacogenomics: Current status and the path forward. Pharmacogenomics, 19(10), 847-860. 10.2217/pgs-2018-0028 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Cavallari L. H., Van Driest S. L., Prows C. A., Bishop J. R., Limdi N. A., Pratt V. M., Ramsey L. B., Smith D. M., Tuteja S., Duong B. Q., Hicks J. K., Lee J. C., Obeng A. O., Beitelshees A. L., Bell G. C., Blake K., Crona D. J., Dressler L., Gregg R. A.,…, & Todd, T. C., IGNITE Network (2019). Multi-site investigation of strategies for the clinical implementation of CYP2D6 genotyping to guide drug prescribing. Genetics in Medicine, 21(10), 2255-2263. 10.1038/s41436-019-0484-3 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Chan S. L., Liew H. Z. W., Nguyen F., Thumboo J., Chow W. C., Sung C. (2021). Prescription patterns of outpatients and the potential of multiplexed pharmacogenomic testing. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, 87(3), 886-894. 10.1111/bcp.14439 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Clinical Pharmacogenetics Implementation Consortium (2019). Clinical Pharmacogenetics Implementation Consortium Guidelines. https://cpipgx.org.
    1. Deininger K. M., Page R. L., Lee Y. M., Kauffman Y. S., Johnson S. G., Oreschak K., Aquilante C. L. (2019). Non-interventional cardiologists’ perspectives on the role of pharmacogenomic testing in cardiovascular medicine. Personalized Medicine, 16(2), 123-132. 10.2217/pme-2018-0099 - DOI - PubMed

Publication types