Reshma Jagsi study finds that many high-risk patients with breast cancer aren’t getting genetic testing

According to a study by Reshma Jagsi and colleagues, doctors often fail to recommend genetic testing for breast-cancer patients, even those who are at high risk for mutations linked to ovarian and other cancers. They surveyed 2,529 breast-cancer patients and found that although two-thirds of the women reported wanting genetic testing, less than a third actually got it. About 8 in 10 women at highest risk for BRCA mutations — because of family history or ancestry — said they had wanted testing, but only a little more than half received it.