For women with ovarian cancer, an oncologist-led BRCA1/2 (BRCAm) counseling process is associated with favorable waiting times for test results and high levels of satisfaction, according to results of a prospective observational study.
The median turnaround time from initial counseling to receiving a test result was 9.1 weeks, investigators reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
“Following a pathway similar to the one used in this study could allow faster treatment decisions and better use of resources in the management of patients with ovarian cancer,” said lead author Nicoletta Colombo, MD, of European Institute of Oncology, University of Milan-Bicocca, Italy, and her associates.
Establishing an ovarian cancer patient’s BRCAm status provides useful prognostic information and helps identify patients most likely to benefit from therapy with poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors, Dr. Colombo and her colleagues wrote.
However, despite guideline recommendations, many patients with an ovarian cancer diagnosis are currently not receiving BRCAm testing, they added.
“Given the high volume of BRCAm tests now being ordered, a new, more streamlined testing approach is needed to shorten testing turnaround times and to ease the pressure on genetic counselors,” the authors said.
In a pilot study from the United Kingdom, a streamlined, oncologist-led BRCAm testing model reduced a 20-week average turnaround time by fourfold, Dr. Colombo and her colleagues said.