No Racial Disparities Observed Using Point-of-Care Genetic Counseling and Testing for Endometrial and Ovarian Cancer in a Diverse Patient Population: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Michael Kim; Judy Hayek; Cheyenne Acker; Anjile An; Peilin Zhang; Constantine Gorelick; Margaux J Kanis

doi:10.3390/cancers16081598

No Racial Disparities Observed Using Point-of-Care Genetic Counseling and Testing for Endometrial and Ovarian Cancer in a Diverse Patient Population: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Cancers (Basel). 2024 Apr 22;16(8):1598. doi: 10.3390/cancers16081598.

Authors

Michael Kim¹, Judy Hayek², Cheyenne Acker³, Anjile An³, Peilin Zhang¹, Constantine Gorelick¹, Margaux J Kanis¹

Affiliations

¹ New York-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, Brooklyn, NY 11215, USA.
² Division of Gynecologic Oncology, State University of New York Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY 11203, USA.
³ Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10065, USA.

Abstract

We investigated genetic counseling and testing rates for patients with gynecologic malignancy at a tertiary care center with a large minority population. Our retrospective cohort included newly diagnosed epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, peritoneal, or endometrial cancer patients between January 2014 and June 2022. For endometrial cancer, 373 patients were identified. A total of 207 (55%) patients were screened using mismatch repair immunohistochemistry (MMR IHC). A total of 82 (40%) had MMR deficiencies on IHC. Of these, 63 (77%) received genetic counseling. A total of 62 (98%) underwent genetic testing, and ultimately, 7 (11%) were diagnosed with Lynch syndrome (LS). The overall rate of LS was 1.9%. MMR IHC testing increased steadily, reaching 100% in 2022. For ovarian cancer, 144 patients were identified. A total of 104 (72%) patients received genetic counseling, and 99 (95%) underwent genetic testing. Rates were not influenced by race, ethnicity, insurance type, or family history of cancer. They were significantly different by cancer stage (p < 0.01). The proportion of patients who received genetic counseling increased from 47% in 2015 to 100% in 2022 (p < 0.01). Most counseling was performed by a gynecologic oncologist (93%) as opposed to a genetic counselor (6.7%). Overall, 12 (8.3%) patients were BRCA+. High rates of counseling and testing were observed with few disparities.

Keywords: endometrial cancer; genetic counseling; genetic testing; hereditary cancer; ovarian cancer.

Grants and funding

This research was funded by CTSC GRANT UL1 TR 002384 for statistical support from Weill Cornell Medicine. This work was supported by grant number UL1 TR 002384 from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).