Surgical decisions of newly diagnosed breast cancer patients following genetic referral.

Abstract

40 Background: In response to many recent publications and mandates to assure referrals to genetic counseling for oncology patients, the Royal Oak (RO) Breast Care Center (BCC) at Beaumont Health System (BHS) evaluated the surgical outcomes of genetic referral(GR) in breast cancer (BC) patients. The goal of this study was to determine the impact of GR on surgical decision making and evaluate outcomes in this population. Methods: A retrospective chart review was performed, to identify patients who had a BC diagnosis and met criteria for GR from July 2012- July 2014. Age, histology, laterality of cancer, prior history of cancer, neoadjuvant chemotherapy, plastic surgery consultation, MRI, reason for MRI, additional testing, type of surgery, laterality of surgery, reconstruction, lymph node surgery, and time from diagnosis to surgery were evaluated using Chi Square analysis. Results: A total of 506 patients with a new BC diagnosis seen at the RO BCC at BHS within the inclusion dates were analyzed. There were 191 patients referred to the GP for counseling and possible genetic testing. Eighty percent of the referred patients underwent genetic testing. Twelve patients tested positive for deleterious mutations in BRCA 1 or 2. A statistically significant difference was found in the BC patients referred to the GP with respect to age, MRI usage, neoadjuvant chemotherapy, type and laterality of surgery, ALND, plastic surgery consult & reconstruction, and time from diagnosis to surgery. MRI usage in patients referred to GP was 43.5% vs. 12.7% in those not referred. Mastectomy rate in patients referred to GP was 51.3% vs. 25.5% (p<0.001) in those not referred. Bilateral mastectomy was 30.9% vs. 5.8% (p<0.001). Conclusions: We have found that patients referred to the GP have increased the use of MRI testing, which in itself has been shown to increase mastectomy rates. We also identified a trend in these patients toward bilateral mastectomy. According to our outcomes, there are multiple possible reasons for this trend, including family history, physician bias, stage at diagnosis, age and factors intrinsic to the patient. Furthermore, a multivariate analysis is needed to assess the relationship between a GR and a patient’s surgical decision.

Impact of preoperativeBRCA1/2testing on surgical decision making in patients with newly diagnosed breast cancer

“…Although the rate of bilateral mastectomy in the United States is rising, the rate of bilateral mastectomy in our cohort is much higher than that reported in unselected patients with newly diagnosed breast cancer . Previously reported data from our institution had shown that patients who were referred for genetic testing after a breast cancer diagnosis had a much higher rate of bilateral mastectomy compared to those who were not seen in cancer genetics . Although we identified several factors associated with higher tendency toward bilateral mastectomy in this study, we did not evaluate several other factors that are known to be associated with higher rates of bilateral mastectomy, such as family history, educational status, use of MRI, and patient and surgeon preference .…”