Differences in Willingness to Undergo BRCA1/2 Testing and Risk Reducing Surgery among the General Public, Cancer Patients, and Healthcare Professionals: A Large Population-Based Survey

Yoon Jung Chang^{1

2

3}, Seungyeon Cho¹, Jungnam Joo⁴, Kum Hei Ryu⁵, Sangwon Lee⁶, Juhee Cho^{7

8

9}, Myong Cheol Lim^{2

10

11}, So-Youn Jung^{12

13

14}, Jai Hong Han¹², Eun Sook Lee^{10

12}, Sun-Young Kong^{14

15

16}

Affiliations

¹ Division of Cancer Control & Policy, National Cancer Control Institute, National Cancer Center, Goyang 10408, Korea.
² Department of Cancer Control and Policy, National Cancer Center Graduate School of Cancer Science and Policy, Goyang 10408, Korea.
³ Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications Branch, Research Institute, National Cancer Center, Goyang 10408, Korea.
⁴ Office of Biostatistics Research, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20852, USA.
⁵ Center for Cancer Prevention & Detection, National Cancer Center Hospital, Goyang 10408, Korea.
⁶ Cancer Data Center, National Cancer Control Institute, National Cancer Center, Goyang 10408, Korea.
⁷ Center for Clinical Epidemiology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul 06351, Korea.
⁸ Department of Clinical Research Design and Evaluation, SAIHST, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul 06351, Korea.
⁹ Departments of Health, Behavior and Society and Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
¹⁰ Immuno-Oncology Branch, Division of Rare and Refractory Cancer, Research Institute, National Cancer Center, Goyang 10408, Korea.
¹¹ Center for Gynecologic Cancer, National Cancer Center Hospital, Goyang 10408, Korea.
¹² Center for Breast Cancer, National Cancer Center Hospital, Goyang 10408, Korea.
¹³ Department of Cancer Biomedical Science, National Cancer Center Graduate School of Cancer Science and Policy, Goyang 10408, Korea.
¹⁴ Cancer Outcome & Quality Improvement Branch, Research Institute, National Cancer Center, Goyang 10408, Korea.
¹⁵ Targeted Therapy Branch, Research Institute, National Cancer Center, Goyang 10408, Korea.
¹⁶ Department of Laboratory Medicine, National Cancer Center Hospital, Goyang 10408, Korea.

PMID: 35629239
PMCID: PMC9147340
DOI: 10.3390/jpm12050818

Differences in Willingness to Undergo BRCA1/2 Testing and Risk Reducing Surgery among the General Public, Cancer Patients, and Healthcare Professionals: A Large Population-Based Survey

Yoon Jung Chang et al. J Pers Med. 2022.

. 2022 May 18;12(5):818.

doi: 10.3390/jpm12050818.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Division of Cancer Control & Policy, National Cancer Control Institute, National Cancer Center, Goyang 10408, Korea.
² Department of Cancer Control and Policy, National Cancer Center Graduate School of Cancer Science and Policy, Goyang 10408, Korea.
³ Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications Branch, Research Institute, National Cancer Center, Goyang 10408, Korea.
⁴ Office of Biostatistics Research, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20852, USA.
⁵ Center for Cancer Prevention & Detection, National Cancer Center Hospital, Goyang 10408, Korea.
⁶ Cancer Data Center, National Cancer Control Institute, National Cancer Center, Goyang 10408, Korea.
⁷ Center for Clinical Epidemiology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul 06351, Korea.
⁸ Department of Clinical Research Design and Evaluation, SAIHST, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul 06351, Korea.
⁹ Departments of Health, Behavior and Society and Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
¹⁰ Immuno-Oncology Branch, Division of Rare and Refractory Cancer, Research Institute, National Cancer Center, Goyang 10408, Korea.
¹¹ Center for Gynecologic Cancer, National Cancer Center Hospital, Goyang 10408, Korea.
¹² Center for Breast Cancer, National Cancer Center Hospital, Goyang 10408, Korea.
¹³ Department of Cancer Biomedical Science, National Cancer Center Graduate School of Cancer Science and Policy, Goyang 10408, Korea.
¹⁴ Cancer Outcome & Quality Improvement Branch, Research Institute, National Cancer Center, Goyang 10408, Korea.
¹⁵ Targeted Therapy Branch, Research Institute, National Cancer Center, Goyang 10408, Korea.
¹⁶ Department of Laboratory Medicine, National Cancer Center Hospital, Goyang 10408, Korea.

PMID: 35629239
PMCID: PMC9147340
DOI: 10.3390/jpm12050818

Abstract

We aimed to understand the decision-making process related to the willingness to undergo BRCA1/2 genetic testing, risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy (RRSO), or risk-reducing mastectomy (RRM) among the general public, cancer patients, and healthcare professionals in South Korea. In total, 3444 individuals (1496 from the general public, 1500 cancer patients, 108 clinicians, and 340 researchers) completed a survey addressing genetic testing and related risk management options in a hypothetical scenario. Differences in intent and associated factors for undergoing the above procedures or sharing test results were analyzed. Overall, 67% of participants were willing to undergo BRCA1/2 testing, with proportions of the general public (58%), cancer patients (70%), clinicians (88%), and researchers (90%). The willingness to undergo RRSO was highest among clinicians (58%), followed by among patients (38%), the general public (33%), and researchers (32%) (p < 0.001). Gender, age, education level, and household income were associated with willingness to undergo genetic testing, RRM, and RRSO (p < 0.05). The intent for undergo genetic testing, RRM, and RRSO were affected by many factors. Finally, 69% of the general public intended to share information with family, while this percentage was 92%, 91%, and 94% for patients, clinicians, and researchers, respectively (p < 0.05). These results highlight the requirement for developing targeted educational materials and counseling strategies for facilitating informed decision making.

Keywords: BRCA1; BRCA2; clinical decision making; genetic counseling; genetic testing; information dissemination; mastectomy; prophylactic surgical procedure; salpingo-oophorectomy.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared no conflict of interest.

Figures

**Figure 1**
Intent to undergo *BRCA1/2* testing and its reasons by respondent type.

**Figure 2**
Intent to undergo risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy and its reasons by respondent type.

**Figure 3**
Intent to undergo risk-reducing mastectomy (RRM) and its reasons by respondent type.

**Figure 4**
Intent to share *BRCA 1/2* test results with family members and recommend testing by respondent type.

See this image and copyright information in PMC

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Differences in Willingness to Undergo BRCA1/2 Testing and Risk Reducing Surgery among the General Public, Cancer Patients, and Healthcare Professionals: A Large Population-Based Survey

Affiliations

Differences in Willingness to Undergo BRCA1/2 Testing and Risk Reducing Surgery among the General Public, Cancer Patients, and Healthcare Professionals: A Large Population-Based Survey

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

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