At-home genetic testing kits for breast and ovarian cancer risk are just as effective, and in some cases even more so, than the current typical protocol for genetic testing which requires repeated office visits and counseling, a study led by UW Medicine researchers has found.
The results, published this month on the American Society of Clinical Oncology website, found that the there was no increased stress after genetic testing for women who did not receive pre- and post- test counseling and were given just electronic education in the three-year study called MAGENTA, or Making GENetic Testing Accessible.
“It was surprising that personalized telephone counseling where a subject could talk to a person who was an expert in genetics before they got the test and then again after they got the test to receive the results was not necessary,” UW Medicine’s Dr. Elizabeth Swisher , one of the lead authors, said. “Patients had no increased anxiety or stress if they skipped that counseling process and just received online genetic education.”
