Genetic assessment of hereditary breast and ovarian cancer in the Harris Health System: A five-year, single-center experience.

Authors

null

Nicole Higashiyama

Lester and Sue Smith Breast Center, Dan L. Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX

Nicole Higashiyama , Shaun Bulsara , Susan G. Hilsenbeck , Tiffaney Tran , Ria Brown , Mary Fang , Cathy Sullivan , Georgiann Garza , C. Kent Osborne , Mothaffar F. Rimawi , Julie R. Nangia

Organizations

Lester and Sue Smith Breast Center, Dan L. Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX

Research Funding

No funding received
None

Background: Identifying patients with hereditary breast cancer is critical since lifetime breast cancer risk is as high as 85% for those with germline BRCA1/2 mutations and preventive interventions can reduce that risk. However, genetic assessments and counseling are often underutilized among racial/ethnic minority populations. Reducing this genetic testing gap is important since hereditary breast/ovarian cancer syndromes occur among racial/ethnic minorities at least as frequently as non-Ashkenazi Jewish, non-Hispanic White populations. More information on variants in these populations is also needed to better define their genetic susceptibility. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of adult patients evaluated for genetic testing for hereditary breast/ovarian cancer by a genetic counselor between October 1, 2009 and September 30, 2014 in Harris Health System which is a large, county health system composed mostly of underserved and minority patients. Data from 2015-2019 is currently being extracted and we are reporting the first 5 years of data. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize patient data. Results: 659 patients underwent genetic counseling (10.5% non-Hispanic White, 24.4% Black, 56.9% Hispanic, 5.9% Asian, and 2.3% other). Five patients had Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry. The majority of patients completed testing (87.4%) with 72.7% receiving financial assistance. Among those who did not complete testing, only 12.0% declined, while 66.3% did not meet guideline-based criteria or were recommended to have an affected relative tested. Multigene panel testing was not available until April 2014, so most underwent BRCA sequencing (75.0%) and/or a BRCA large rearrangement test (61.0%). 36.1% received multigene panel testing, 4.6% single site analysis, and 4.4% p53 sequencing. Deleterious mutations occurred in 98 (14.9%) patients: BRCA1 (n = 60), BRCA2 (n = 25), PALB2 (n = 7), ATM (n = 3), and other (n = 3). The distribution of races/ethnicities among those with deleterious mutations was similar to the overall population (7.1% non-Hispanic White, 18.4% Black, 69.4% Hispanic, 3.1% Asian, and 2.0% other). 80.6% of those with deleterious mutations had breast cancer. High rates of bilateral mastectomies were performed in patients with deleterious mutations: BRCA1 60%, BRCA2 55%, PALB2 57.1%, and ATM 33%. Risk-reducing salpingectomy or salpingo-oophorectomy was performed in 56.7% BRCA1, 60% BRCA2, 28.5% PALB2, and 33.3% other mutation carriers. Conclusions: We demonstrate that with the support of financial assistance programs, most patients who receive genetic counseling will accept genetic testing in a socioeconomically underserved, racially/ethnically diverse population. Identification of high-risk patients in these groups is critical since pathogenic variants in this population were common and more than half underwent risk-reducing procedures.

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Abstract Details

Meeting

2021 ASCO Annual Meeting

Session Type

Poster Session

Session Title

Prevention, Risk Reduction, and Hereditary Cancer

Track

Prevention, Risk Reduction, and Genetics

Sub Track

Germline Genetic Testing

Citation

J Clin Oncol 39, 2021 (suppl 15; abstr 10587)

DOI

10.1200/JCO.2021.39.15_suppl.10587

Abstract #

10587

Poster Bd #

Online Only

Abstract Disclosures

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