With genetic testing becoming more readily available for cancer prevention and surveillance, a new study investigated whether skipping counseling—either before or after testing—is any worse than requiring counseling for patients with a family history of cancer or those known to be at genetic risk for cancer. The results of Making Genetic Testing Accessible (MAGENTA), a four-armed randomized clinical trial, appear in JAMA Oncology (doi:10.1001/jamaoncol.2023.3748).

What prompted researchers from the University of Washington to investigate this issue was their recognition that there was low awareness of the necessity of genetic counseling in the testing process. According to the lead study author, Elizabeth Swisher, MD, a professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and coleader of the Breast and Ovarian Cancer Research Program at the Fred Hutchinson/University of Washington Cancer Consortium in Seattle, Washington, the investigation sought to establish if skipping the standard counseling increased posttest distress and whether that would affect completing the testing process.

According to Dr Swisher, the researchers believe that MAGENTA is the first large randomized clinical trial evaluating the effect of individualized preand posttest counseling for cancer risk assessment while providing electronic enrollment, remote testing, and counseling. “As a result, we hoped to identify more accessible options for patients to get cancer genetic risk assessments without negatively impacting their worries about cancer risk.”

随着基因检测越来越容易用于癌症预防和监测，一项新的研究调查了在检测之前或之后跳过咨询是否比对有癌症家族史或已知有癌症遗传风险的患者需要咨询更糟糕。癌症。使基因检测变得可行 (MAGENTA) 是一项四臂随机临床试验，其结果发表在《JAMA Oncology》杂志上 (doi:10.1001/jamaoncol.2023.3748)。

促使华盛顿大学的研究人员调查这个问题的原因是他们认识到人们对测试过程中遗传咨询的必要性认识不足。该研究的主要作者、华盛顿州西雅图 Fred Hutchinson/华盛顿大学癌症联盟妇产科教授、乳腺癌和卵巢癌研究项目联合负责人伊丽莎白·斯威舍 (Elizabeth Swisher) 医学博士表示，该调查旨在确定跳过标准咨询是否会增加测试后的痛苦，以及这是否会影响完成测试过程。

Swisher 博士表示，研究人员认为 MAGENTA 是第一个大型随机临床试验，评估个体化的测试前和测试后咨询对癌症风险评估的效果，同时提供电子登记、远程测试和咨询。 “因此，我们希望为患者找到更容易获得癌症遗传风险评估的选择，而不会对他们对癌症风险的担忧产生负面影响。”