Personalized Support Boosts Families' Genetic Testing for Hereditary Cancers

THURSDAY, Oct. 8, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- Among patients with cancer with a genetic variant that increases the risk for hereditary cancers, personalized support significantly increases the likelihood that their first-degree relatives complete genetic testing as well, according to a study published online Sept. 29 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.Roni Nitecki Wilke, M.D., from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, and colleagues compared facilitated cascade genetic testing (CGT) with standard of care. The analysis included 151 probands with newly diagnosed BRCA1/2 pathogenic variants who were randomly assigned to CGT or standard care.The researchers found that at six months, genetic testing uptake was significantly higher among the 142 first-degree relatives in the intervention group versus the 144 in the control group (73.2 versus 50.7 percent). Ninety percent of intervention first-degree relatives completed genetic testing by 18 months. Among the 206 first-degree relatives who completed testing, 46 percent had a pathogenic or likely pathogenic variant identified, and of these, 86 percent carried the familial variant."This study demonstrates that simply informing relatives of their inherited cancer risk is not enough," Wilke said in a statement. "When we provided navigation to help people through the testing process, we noticed a meaningful difference in utilization and how soon people completed their testing. This creates new opportunities to enhance screening, prevention, and early intervention for several hereditary cancers."Two authors disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical industry.Abstract/Full Text.Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter

Personalized Support Boosts Families' Genetic Testing for Hereditary Cancers

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