ASCO, Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Genetic Research, JAMA, Race/Ethnic Diversity, Stanford / 06.06.2023
Potentially Lifesaving Genetic Testing After Cancer Diagnosis Underutilized
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Allison W. Kurian, M.D., M.Sc.
Professor of Medicine and of Epidemiology and Population Health
Associate Chief, Division of Oncology
Co-Leader, Population Sciences Program, Stanford Cancer Institute
Director, Women’s Clinical Cancer Genetics Program
Stanford University School of Medicine
Stanford, CA 94305-5405
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What types of cancers were in the study?
Response: Genetic testing for cancer risk is increasingly important after a cancer diagnosis, to inform use of targeted therapies, secondary cancer prevention approaches and cascade genetic testing of family members. However, very little is known about how genetic testing is used after a cancer diagnosis at the population level. We leveraged a very large population-based data resource, the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) cancer registries of the states of California and Georgia, and linked data from these registries to clinical genetic testing results provided by the four major laboratories that provide such testing. We used this linked registry-genetic testing dataset to study adults (age >=20 years) diagnosed with all types of cancer in the states of Georgia and California from 2013-2019.
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