Abstract 768: Awareness and use of genetic testing among cancer survivors in the United States: A HINTS-SEER study
Authors: Ramalingam Kirithiga , Scheffler Aaron , Van Blarigan Erin , Li Stephen , Vanderpool Robin C. , Nash Sarah H. , Shariff-Marco Salma , Gomez Scarlett , Hebert-DeRouen Mindy 
Published: March 2024

Background: Germline genetic testing is a valuable tool for cancer treatment and family cancer risk assessment, but its uptake among cancer survivors remains low. Understanding the factors that influence awareness and use of genetic testing among survivors is crucial for improving access to this important tool.

Methods: We analyzed HINTS-SEER data, a pilot project conducted by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in 2021, that oversampled cancer survivors diagnosed prior to 2018 using three registries from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program (Iowa, New Mexico, Greater Bay Area). We examined sociodemographic factors in relation to awareness and use of genetic testing using survey-weighted multivariable logistic regression models. We also examined associations among breast and prostate cancer survivors, separately, as these cancer types have guidelines for genetic testing and had sufficient observations (&gt;100) for stratified analyses.

Results: Of 1232 survivors included in the analysis, 277 (23%) had a history of breast cancer, 285 (23%) had prostate cancer, 82 (6.7%) had colorectal cancer, 25 (2%) had ovarian cancer, and 563 (45.7%) had other cancers. Overall, 76.5% of survivors were aware of genetic testing and 23.5% had used it. Among breast and prostate cancer survivors: 40.0% of breast and 20.6% of prostate cancer survivors were aware of genetic testing, and 21.0% and 2.4% had used it, respectively.

In multivariable models, female gender (vs. male; OR=3.1, 95% CI: 2.3, 4.2), higher education (high school or less education vs. greater than high school; OR=2.4, 95% CI: 1.4, 3.9), higher income ($100,000 or more vs. &lt;$20,000; OR=3.2, 95% CI: 1.8,5.7), and family history (OR=2.0, 95% CI: 1.4,3.0) were significantly associated with higher odds of awareness of genetic testing. Older age (≥65 vs. &lt;40 years; OR=0.4, 95% CI: 0.2,0.6), Asian American race (vs. non-Hispanic white; OR= 0.3, 95% CI: 0.3-0.9), and Hispanic ethnicity (vs. non-Hispanic white; OR= 0.5, 95% CI: 0.3-0.9) were associated with lower odds of awareness of genetic testing.

Female gender (vs. male; OR=5.3, 95% CI: 3.3,8.5) was significantly associated with higher odds of use of genetic testing. Older age (&gt;65 years vs. &lt;40 years; OR=0.4, 95% CI: 0.2,0.7) and unemployed status (OR=0.4, 95% CI: 0.3-0.6) were significantly associated with lower odds of use of genetic testing. In stratified analyses, only older age among breast cancer survivors (≥65 vs. &lt;40 years; OR=0.2, 95% CI: 0.0,0.9) was associated with lower odds of use of genetic testing.

Conclusion: Our study provides valuable insights into genetic testing awareness and utilization among a large sample of cancer survivors in the United States. The identified factors associated with awareness and utilization can be used by healthcare providers to target interventions aimed at improving genetic testing awareness and utilization among cancer survivors.

Citation Format: Kirithiga Ramalingam, Aaron Scheffler, Erin Van Blarigan, Stephen Li, Robin C. Vanderpool, Sarah H. Nash, Salma Shariff-Marco, Scarlett Gomez, Mindy Hebert-DeRouen. Awareness and use of genetic testing among cancer survivors in the United States: A HINTS-SEER study [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2024; Part 1 (Regular Abstracts); 2024 Apr 5-10; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(6_Suppl):Abstract nr 768.