Study Finds Southern Doctors Overlook Key Genetic Test For ‘Underserved’ Patients

Southern doctors seem to be overlooking a key genetic test for underserved patients with breast and ovarian cancer. A new study published by a Vanderbilt researcher finds very few women get this recommended blood screening, even though they have insurance coverage through Medicare.

This genetic test is important because a specific mutation puts the patient and her family members at much higher risk of more cancer. Some women with the BRCA mutation opt to have a double mastectomy or at least more frequent cancer screenings.

But Vanderbilt researcher Amy Gross found that none of these women — most of whom were low income and African American — was referred for testing and only a few sought it out. She says most of them had lots of more immediate health problems that may have distracted the doctor from thinking about genetic tests.

“If someone has uncontrolled diabetes and hypertension and they have this cancer, the focus is probably on making sure they’re able to get the care they need in terms of chemotherapy, radiation, making sure they can go to their appointments,” Gross says.

Most of the women also lived in areas without lots of health care access. Gross says the study should be eye-opening for Tennessee physicians who treat breast and ovarian cancer patients with chronic health conditions.

The particular patients were identified through the Southern Community Cohort Study. The findings published Wednesday in
JAMA.