Attitudes Toward Information About Genetic Risk for Cognitive Impairment After Cancer Chemotherapy: Breast Cancer Survivors Compared With Healthy Controls

Abstract

A B S T R A C T PurposeThe trend toward personalized medicine will involve cancer treatment increasingly being tailored to the genetic characteristics of individuals. However, the availability of genetic information does not imply this information is desired or would impact treatment decision making. MethodsOne hundred sixty breast cancer survivors (BC group) and 205 healthy controls (HC group) were randomly assigned to respond to two different clinical scenarios varying in genetic-related risk of cognitive impairment (CI; little v very likely) and severity of CI (little v moderate problem) after chemotherapy. Ratings of the importance of being told this genetic information (information importance) and the likelihood this information would affect their decision to receive chemotherapy (information impact) were obtained. ResultsResults indicated the importance ascribed to genetic information was greatest when CI likelihood and severity were both high or low (P Ͻ .05). Information impact ratings were not sensitive to differences in CI likelihood or severity; the BC group was less likely to indicate genetic information would affect their decision to receive chemotherapy than the HC group (P Ͻ .001). ConclusionResults suggest lessened enthusiasm for genetic information that maintains or increases uncertainty about a specific course of action and highlight the importance of including clinically relevant groups in treatment decision-making research that employs hypothetical scenarios. Although women generally believe it is important to receive genetic information, they might benefit from assistance (eg, decision aid) in the difficult task of integrating information about survival and risk for adverse late effects from cancer treatment.

Reports of ‘growth’ in survivors of non‐small cell lung cancer and healthy controls: what is the value‐added by the cancer experience?

“…As shown in Table 1, the LC group was a mean of 63.1 years of age (SD = 7.8 years; range 38-77) and 15.7 months postdiagnosis (SD = 2.3 months; range [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22], with a mean of 11.8 years of education (SD = 3.1 years; range 2-20). The majority were married or partnered (n = 109; 58%), and white, non-Hispanic (n = 175; 92%).…”

A Closer Look at Unmet Needs at the End of Primary Treatment for Breast Cancer: A Longitudinal Pilot Study

“…In this study, the nature of unmet psychological needs was multidimensional. In addition to endorsement of non-specific need for help with stress management and greater emotional support, participants wanted help with “concerns about cancer coming back” and “feelings of uncertainty.” Among those with breast cancer, fear of recurrence and uncertainty are positively associated with psychological distress (e.g., depression) 36–38 , and may have implications for treatment decision making and satisfaction 39,40 . Thus, the systematic assessment and subsequent fulfillment of unmet psychological needs among cancer patients/survivors could be a powerful intervention, insofar as a marked reduction in need translates into greater quality of life in the weeks, months, and years to come.…”

Disparities in mental health outcomes among lung cancer survivors associated with ruralness of residence

“…As in prior research , participants in the HC group were recruited using a commercially available database (Marketing Systems Group, Inc., Washington, PA) that includes listed telephone households in the USA. Potential participants in the HC group were mailed a letter describing the study.…”