Many patients not willing to pay for genetic testing

DNA

CHICAGO—A study presented at the ASCO Annual Meeting has found that many people with hereditary cancer risk are only willing to have genetic testing performed if their insurance covers the cost.

Women and less educated patients faced greater barriers from high copay amounts, according to the investigators.

The idea behind genetic testing for cancer-causing genes is to identify patients who need to keep a closer watch on their health. Keeping a closer watch increases the likelihood of catching cancer in earlier stages, which can lead to a better prognosis and lower cost of care.

Jennifer M. Matro, MD, of Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, and colleagues reviewed data collected from 406 patients in the Gastrointestinal Tumor Risk Assessment Registry whose doctors suspected, based on personal and/or family history, that they may have cancer-causing mutations.
 
The investigators wanted to get an idea of how much impact cost actually has on the decision to undergo genetic testing.

The team found that 21.3% (82 people) would only go through with testing if it were covered by their insurance. Ninety percent of those willing to pay some out of pocket costs put a limit on how much they were willing to spend, many of whom stated $500 or less.

People who were more concerned about their risk of cancer maintained a more positive attitude and willingness to pay for testing.

On the other hand, women, people who were less educated, and those with more first-degree relatives who had cancer were less likely to agree to the high copays.

Because genetic testing can be very expensive, Dr Matro recommends that researchers learn more about which patients are most at risk.

“We need to discover more risk factors for genetic mutations, so we can spare those patients who really don’t need to pay for genetic testing,” Dr Matro said.

These findings were presented at the 2012 ASCO Annual Meeting as abstract 1544.

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