Karen H. Lu, MD, on Key Takeaways from Online Genetic Testing

At the 2020 ASCO Virtual Scientific Program, Lu – from the Department of Gynecologic Oncology and Reproductive Medicine at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center – presented on findings from the MAGENTA trial, designed to test whether pre and/or post-test genetic counseling is needed to optimally deliver online accessible genetic testing.

She spoke to CancerNetwork about the key takeaways from the study.

Transcription:

So I think for health care providers, I would say the key takeaway is that this form of genetic testing can, for physicians that may might work in offices or in hospitals where there's less access to genetic counseling, that this can be a viable solution.

I think for patients, what I would say is two things. One, I would differentiate between what I call genetic testing, like as a hobby versus medical grade genetic testing. I think it's important when you're talking to lay public to explain the difference between a test that's really more for like genealogy and to kind of learn about your family history and where you come from. That's different than medical grade genetic testing. And this is really medical grade genetic testing.

And so, I would say that for individuals, this study was meant for women that had a family history of ovarian or breast cancer and also individuals that had a known mutation in their family. So, for those women, we really feel that this electronic platform is a way that they can let their family members know if you know because many families are distributed across you know, the US and so some in rural states in the summon you know, kind of other areas and that this can be a way for you to kind of get very important health information.