In 2009, 192,370 new cases of female breast cancer (BC) were diagnosed in the U.S. Of these cases, 5%- 10% were attributed to BRCA mutations. This translates to approximately 9,000 to18,000 high-risk women who may be impacted by hereditary BC. In a given year, the number of high-risk BC patients is similar to or greater than the total number of cases of other cancers in women (e.g., oral cancer, n=10,480;stomach cancer, n=8,310;cervical cancer n=11,720;myeloma n=8,900). While, the relative proportion of BC patients at increased risk for hereditary BC may be considered small, the absolute number is comparable to the total number of female cases in certain cancer sites. Recent studies suggest BC patients with a BRCA mutation have a 3.5 to 4.5 times greater risk of contralateral breast cancer (CBC) than patients without a BRCA mutation. Thus, thousands of women each year not only face a current BC diagnosis but are also at significantly increased CBC risk. There are criteria put forth by several leading health and professional organizations including the National Comprehensive Cancer Network that help providers readily identify women at increased risk for hereditary BC(e.g., diagnosis The proposed study, Genetic Education To Promote Counseling Attendance after Surgical Treatment (GET PAST) study will develop and evaluate a psychoeducational intervention (PEI) for high-risk, recently diagnosed, breast cancer patients about genetic counseling (GC).Public Health Relevance
| Vadaparampil, Susan T; Malo, Teri L; Nam, Kelli M et al. (2014) From observation to intervention: development of a psychoeducational intervention to increase uptake of BRCA genetic counseling among high-risk breast cancer survivors. J Cancer Educ 29:709-19 |
| Pal, Tuya; Vadaparampil, Susan T (2012) Genetic risk assessments in individuals at high risk for inherited breast cancer in the breast oncology care setting. Cancer Control 19:255-66 |
