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Petterson AT, Garbarini J, Baker MJ. Universal screening of colorectal tumors for lynch syndrome: a survey of patient experiences and opinions. Hered Cancer Clin Pract 2024; 22:18. [PMID: 39238026 PMCID: PMC11378365 DOI: 10.1186/s13053-024-00290-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2023] [Accepted: 08/26/2024] [Indexed: 09/07/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Lynch syndrome represents the most common hereditary cause of both colorectal and endometrial cancer. It is caused by defects in mismatch repair genes, as well as EPCAM. Universal screening of colon tumors for Lynch syndrome via microsatellite instability (MSI) and/or immunohistochemistry (IHC) can identify patients and families at risk to develop further cancers and potentially impact surveillance and treatment options. The approach to implementation of universal screening, taking ethical considerations into account, is critical to its effectiveness, with patient perspectives providing valuable insight. METHODS Patients whose colon tumors underwent universal screening at Penn State Hershey Medical Center over a period of 2.5 years were mailed a survey on universal screening in 2017. Along with the survey, they received a recruitment letter and a summary explanation of research. The survey included both multiple choice and free-response questions that covered topics including respondent knowledge of Lynch syndrome, attitudes toward universal screening and experiences with the screening protocol as implemented. RESULTS Sixty-six of 297 possible patients (22.2%) responded to the survey, including 13 whose screening results raised concern for Lynch syndrome. 75.8% of respondents supported universal tumor screening without informed consent. 92.4% preferred receiving screening results regardless of outcome. Respondents described benefits to screening for themselves and their families. CONCLUSIONS While broadly supporting universal tumor screening without informed consent, respondents also wanted more information shared about the screening policy, as well as their results. These patient preferences should be one of many factors considered when implementing universal screening and can also inform practices regarding both tumor profiling and universal genetic testing, which is becoming more prevalent.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander T Petterson
- Genetic Counseling Program, Arcadia University, Glenside, PA, USA
- Penn State Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, PA, USA
| | | | - Maria J Baker
- Penn State Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, PA, USA.
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Schneider JL, Firemark AJ, Gille S, Davis J, Pawloski PA, Liang SY, Epstein MM, Lowery J, Lu CY, Sharaf RN, Burnett-Hartman AN, Schlieder V, Salvati ZM, Cragun D, Rahm AK, Hunter JE. "Go ahead and screen" - advice to healthcare systems for routine lynch syndrome screening from interviews with newly diagnosed colorectal cancer patients. Hered Cancer Clin Pract 2023; 21:24. [PMID: 37978552 PMCID: PMC10657118 DOI: 10.1186/s13053-023-00270-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2023] [Accepted: 11/13/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Lynch syndrome (LS) is the most common cause of inherited colorectal cancer (CRC). Universal tumor screening (UTS) of newly diagnosed CRC cases is recommended to aid in diagnosis of LS and reduce cancer-related morbidity and mortality. However, not all health systems have adopted UTS processes and implementation may be inconsistent due to system and patient-level complexities. METHODS To identify barriers, facilitators, and suggestions for improvements of the UTS process from the patient perspective, we conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews with patients recently diagnosed with CRC, but not screened for or aware of LS. Patients were recruited from eight regionally diverse US health systems. Interviews were conducted by telephone, 60-minutes, audio-recorded, and transcribed. An inductive, constant comparative analysis approach was employed. RESULTS: We completed 75 interviews across the eight systems. Most participants were white (79%), about half (52%) were men, and the mean age was 60 years. Most self-reported either no (60%) or minimal (40%) prior awareness of LS. Overall, 96% of patients stated UTS should be a routine standard of care for CRC tumors, consistently citing four primary motivations for wanting to know their LS status and engage in the process for LS identification: "knowledge is power"; "family knowledge"; "prevention and detection"; and "treatment and surveillance." Common concerns pertaining to the process of screening for and identifying LS included: creating anticipatory worry for patients, the potential cost and the accuracy of the genetic test, and possibly having one's health insurance coverage impacted by the LS diagnosis. Patients suggested health systems communicate LS results in-person or by phone from a trained expert in LS; offer proactive verbal and written education about LS, the screening steps, and any follow-up surveillance recommendations; and support patients in communicating their LS screening to any of their blood relatives. CONCLUSION Our qualitative findings demonstrate patients with CRC have a strong desire for healthcare systems to regularly implement and offer UTS. Patients offer key insights for health systems to guide future implementation and optimization of UTS and other LS screening programs and maximize diagnosis of individuals with LS and improve cancer-related surveillance and outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION Not available: not a clinical trial.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer L Schneider
- Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research, 3800 N Interstate Ave, 97227, Portland, OR, USA.
| | - Alison J Firemark
- Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research, 3800 N Interstate Ave, 97227, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Sara Gille
- Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research, 3800 N Interstate Ave, 97227, Portland, OR, USA
| | - James Davis
- Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research, 3800 N Interstate Ave, 97227, Portland, OR, USA
| | | | - Su-Ying Liang
- Palo Alto Medical Foundation Research Institute, Palo Alto, CA, USA
| | - Mara M Epstein
- Division of Health Systems Science, Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Jan Lowery
- University of Colorado Cancer Center, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Christine Y Lu
- Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Ravi N Sharaf
- Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, Division of Epidemiology, Department of Population Health Sciences, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | | | | | | | - Deborah Cragun
- University of South Florida, 3720 Spectrum Blvd, Suite 304, Tampa, Fl, USA
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Dueñas N, Navarro M, Sanjuán X, Ruiz N, Iglesias S, Matias-Guiu X, Guardiola J, Kreisler E, Biondo S, González S, Legido R, Blanco A, Navarro S, Asiain L, Santos C, Capellá G, Pineda M, Brunet J. Lessons learnt from the implementation of a colorectal cancer screening programme for lynch syndrome in a tertiary public hospital. Cancer Epidemiol 2023; 82:102291. [PMID: 36410089 DOI: 10.1016/j.canep.2022.102291] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2022] [Revised: 11/03/2022] [Accepted: 11/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Lynch syndrome (LS) is the first cause of inherited colorectal cancer (CRC), being responsible for 2-4% of all diagnoses. Identification of affected individuals is important as they have an increased lifetime risk of multiple CRC and other neoplasms, however, LS is consistently underdiagnosed at the population level. We aimed to evaluate the yield of LS screening in CRC in a single-referral centre and to identify the barriers to its effective implementation. METHODS LS screening programme included individuals with CRC < 70 years, multiple CRC, or endometrial cancer at any age. Mismatch repair (MMR) protein immunohistochemistry (IHC) analysis was performed in routine practice on the surgical specimen and, if MLH1 IHC was altered, MLH1 gene promoter methylation was analysed. Results were collected in the CRC multidisciplinary board database. LS suspected individuals (altered MMR IHC without MLH1 promoter methylation) were referred to the Cancer Genetic Counselling Unit (CGCU). If accepted, a genetic study was performed. Two checkpoints were included: review of the pathology data and verification of patient referral by a genetic counsellor. RESULTS Between 2016 and 2019, 381 individuals were included. MMR IHC analysis was performed in 374/381 (98.2 %) CRC cases and MLH1 promoter methylation in 18/21 (85.7 %). Seventeen of the 20 LS suspected individuals were invited for referral at the CGCU. Two cases were not invited and the remaining patient died of cancer before completion of tumour screening. Fifteen individuals attended and a genetic analysis was performed in 15/20 (75 %) LS suspected individuals. Ten individuals were diagnosed with LS, in concordance with the IHC profile (2.7 % of the total cohort). This led to cascade testing in 58/75 (77.3 %) of the available adult relatives at risk, identifying 26 individuals with LS. CONCLUSIONS Establishing a standardized institutional LS screening programme with checkpoints in the workflow is key to increasing the yield of LS identification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nuria Dueñas
- Hereditary Cancer Program, Catalan Institute of Oncology-IDIBELL, ONCOBELL, Hospitalet de Llobregat, 08908 Barcelona, Spain; Biomedical Research Centre Network for Oncology (CIBERONC), Instituto Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain.
| | - Matilde Navarro
- Hereditary Cancer Program, Catalan Institute of Oncology-IDIBELL, ONCOBELL, Hospitalet de Llobregat, 08908 Barcelona, Spain; Hereditary Cancer Program, Catalan Institute of Oncology, Badalona 08916, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Xavier Sanjuán
- Department of Pathology, Bellvitge University Hospital, Hospitalet de Llobregat, 08907 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Núria Ruiz
- Department of Pathology, Bellvitge University Hospital, Hospitalet de Llobregat, 08907 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Silvia Iglesias
- Hereditary Cancer Program, Catalan Institute of Oncology-IDIBELL, ONCOBELL, Hospitalet de Llobregat, 08908 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Xavier Matias-Guiu
- Department of Pathology, Bellvitge University Hospital, Hospitalet de Llobregat, 08907 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Jordi Guardiola
- Department of Gastroenterology, Bellvitge University Hospital, Hospitalet de Llobregat, 08907 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Esther Kreisler
- Department of General Surgery, Bellvitge University Hospital, Hospitalet de Llobregat, 08907 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Sebastiano Biondo
- Department of General Surgery, Bellvitge University Hospital, Hospitalet de Llobregat, 08907 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Sara González
- Hereditary Cancer Program, Catalan Institute of Oncology-IDIBELL, ONCOBELL, Hospitalet de Llobregat, 08908 Barcelona, Spain; Biomedical Research Centre Network for Oncology (CIBERONC), Instituto Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain
| | - Raquel Legido
- Colorectal Cancer Multidisciplinary Board, Catalan Institute of Oncology, Hospitalet de Llobregat, 08908 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Ana Blanco
- Colorectal Cancer Multidisciplinary Board, Bellvitge University Hospital, Hospitalet de Llobregat, 08907 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Silvia Navarro
- Colorectal Cancer Multidisciplinary Board, Bellvitge University Hospital, Hospitalet de Llobregat, 08907 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Leyre Asiain
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Catalan Institute of Oncology, Hospitalet de Llobregat, 08908 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Cristina Santos
- Biomedical Research Centre Network for Oncology (CIBERONC), Instituto Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain; Department of Medical Oncology, Catalan Institute of Oncology, Hospitalet de Llobregat, 08908 Barcelona, Spain; Bellvitge Health Sciences Campus, University of Barcelona, Hospitalet de Llobregat, 08908 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Gabriel Capellá
- Hereditary Cancer Program, Catalan Institute of Oncology-IDIBELL, ONCOBELL, Hospitalet de Llobregat, 08908 Barcelona, Spain; Biomedical Research Centre Network for Oncology (CIBERONC), Instituto Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain
| | - Marta Pineda
- Hereditary Cancer Program, Catalan Institute of Oncology-IDIBELL, ONCOBELL, Hospitalet de Llobregat, 08908 Barcelona, Spain; Biomedical Research Centre Network for Oncology (CIBERONC), Instituto Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain
| | - Joan Brunet
- Hereditary Cancer Program, Catalan Institute of Oncology-IDIBELL, ONCOBELL, Hospitalet de Llobregat, 08908 Barcelona, Spain; Biomedical Research Centre Network for Oncology (CIBERONC), Instituto Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain; Hereditary Cancer Program, Catalan Institute of Oncology-IDIBGI, OncoGir-Pro, 17007 Girona, Spain
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Etchegary H, Pike A, Puddester R, Watkins K, Warren M, Francis V, Woods M, Green J, Savas S, Seal M, Gao Z, Avery S, Curtis F, McGrath J, MacDonald D, Burry TN, Dawson L. Cancer prevention in cancer predisposition syndromes: A protocol for testing the feasibility of building a hereditary cancer research registry and nurse navigator follow up model. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0279317. [PMID: 36548287 PMCID: PMC9778977 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0279317] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2022] [Accepted: 12/02/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Monogenic, high penetrance syndromes, conferring an increased risk of malignancies in multiple organs, are important contributors to the hereditary burden of cancer. Early detection and risk reduction strategies in patients with a cancer predisposition syndrome can save their lives. However, despite evidence supporting the benefits of early detection and risk reduction strategies, most Canadian jurisdictions have not implemented programmatic follow up of these patients. In our study site in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador (NL), Canada, there is no centralized, provincial registry of high-risk individuals. There is no continuity or coordination of care providing cancer genetics expertise and no process to ensure that patients are referred to the appropriate specialists or risk management interventions. This paper describes a study protocol to test the feasibility of obtaining and analyzing patient risk management data, specifically patients affected by hereditary breast ovarian cancer syndrome (HBOC; BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 genes) and Lynch syndrome (LS; MLH1, MSH2, MSH6, and PMS2 genes). Through a retrospective cohort study, we will describe these patients' adherence to risk management guidelines and test its relationship to health outcomes, including cancer incidence and stage. Through a qualitative interviews, we will determine the priorities and preferences of patients with any inherited cancer mutation for a follow up navigation model of risk management. Study data will inform a subsequent funding application focused on creating and evaluating a research registry and follow up nurse navigation model. It is not currently known what proportion of cancer mutation carriers are receiving care according to guidelines. Data collected in this study will provide clinical uptake and health outcome information so gaps in care can be identified. Data will also provide patient preference information to inform ongoing and planned research with cancer mutation carriers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Holly Etchegary
- Clinical Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada
- * E-mail:
| | - April Pike
- Faculty of Nursing, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada
| | - Rebecca Puddester
- Faculty of Nursing, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada
| | - Kathy Watkins
- Centre for Nursing and Health Studies, Eastern Health, St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada
| | - Mike Warren
- Patient Partner, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada
| | - Vanessa Francis
- Patient Partner, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada
| | - Michael Woods
- Division of Biomedical Sciences, Discipline of Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada
| | - Jane Green
- Division of Biomedical Sciences, Discipline of Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada
| | - Sevtap Savas
- Division of Biomedical Sciences, Discipline of Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada
| | - Melanie Seal
- Discipline of Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Cancer Care Program, Eastern Health, St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada
| | - Zhiwei Gao
- Clinical Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada
| | - Susan Avery
- Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada
| | - Fiona Curtis
- Provincial Medical Genetics Program, Eastern Health, St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada
| | - Jerry McGrath
- Gastroenterology, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada
| | - Donald MacDonald
- Newfoundland and Labrador Centre for Health Information, St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada
| | - T. Nadine Burry
- Clinical Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada
| | - Lesa Dawson
- Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada
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