OCRA-Funded Trial Finds Genetic Counseling May Be Unnecessary Barrier to Genetic Testing
Snap Summary: Research co-funded by OCRA found that foregoing genetic counseling before and after genetic testing does not negatively impact individuals who do not have a pathogenic mutation.
Studies have shown that people who might have a hereditary cancer risk often do not get tested. This makes it important to identify needless barriers that may be preventing individuals from taking advantage of this potentially lifesaving tool.
As recently published in JAMA Oncology, researchers in the Making Genetic Testing Accessible (MAGENTA) study, funded by OCRA in collaboration with Stand Up to Cancer, aimed to discover if a current known barrier to testing — the recommendation for individuals to receive genetic counseling before and after genetic testing — could be eliminated without a negative impact.
OCRA offers free genetic testing kits to those who qualify. Learn more and apply for a free test kit.
They found that for the majority of individuals, skipping pre-test and post-test counseling did not result in anxiety or distress. For those whose tests reveal a pathogenic mutation, post-test counseling is still needed.
