Do physicians discuss genetic testing with family-history-positive breast cancer patients?

Genetic testing for carriers of known germ-cell mutations involved in hereditary breast cancer in families should start with affected family members, in order to avoid ambiguous test results in unaffected members. A survey was conducted (May to August 1997) of physicians involved in the follow-up care of family-history-positive breast cancer patients diagnosed in 1994 and 1995, identified in the Connecticut Tumor Registry. Only 14 (18%) of 76 responding physicians reported having received an advertisement about commercially available tests for genes involved in inherited breast cancer, and only 12 (16%) reported discussing genetic testing with a patient included in this study. None of the 74 patients involved were known (by the responding physicians) to have been tested. However, further surveys are needed because awareness of the availability of genetic tests may be growing.