Kelly Morgan, MS, CGC, on Findings from the BFOR Trial in Genetic Testing

A recent study, presented at the 2020 ASCO Virtual Scientific Program, found that pre- and post-genetic testing online education made patients more knowledgeable about genetic testing.

In an interview with CancerNetwork, discussed the results from the BRCA Founder OutReach (BFOR) trial.

Transcription:

This model successfully engaged over 4000 participants. In testing, there were 137 participants today who have tested positive, which is about 3.4% of those who underwent this model. We can report in terms of the primary care provider engagement, a minority of participants, only about one-third, selected their primary care provider to get the results. And less than half of primary care providers opted in to disclosing the results. So that, in and of itself, I think represents a potential opportunity for future intervention and future engagement.

One aspect that was very interesting was the most common reason that participants did not choose the primary care provider essentially matched up to why primary care providers opted out, which was reporting that they felt there may be a lack of expertise, but along with that, primary care providers reported an interest in gaining more knowledge about genetic testing and potentially being able to serve in that role in the future.

So, in terms of the participant experience, we found satisfaction to be high both after this pre-test education and also after genetic testing. Knowledge was high after the pre-test education, which was very important from our perspective to make sure our participants were able to adequately receive the information they need to make a decision like this.

At this time, we can report fairly early medical outcomes, so only through about 12 weeks. But over half of participants who've tested positive report planning to proceed with the recommended screening or have scheduled risk reducing surgery, so we definitely need more data from the annual surveys, up 3 or 5 years to really say medically how this impacted participants. We can say that they found this model to be something that worked well for them. We’re continuing to learn more about what the implications are going to be long term.