Genetic testing for hereditary cancer has a growing impact on precision medicine and can significantly impact a patient’s medical care. For example, results from testing can help determine therapeutic options for a patient with cancer (such as PARP inhibitors), or if risk-reducing surgery and/or increased cancer surveillance should be considered to reduce the risk of developing cancer.
However, there is room for improvement in identifying those who are at a higher risk for having hereditary cancers, and increasing access to genetics services (genetic counseling and genetic testing) by reducing barriers to care (financial constraints, travel to appointments, etc).
Population-based screening can help identify individuals with increased risks for hereditary cancer. Further, patient navigators have been shown to increase access to medical care by identifying and addressing barriers, and improving patient outcomes overall.
We compiled a toolkit that includes educational resources for clinicians and patients to increase awareness of hereditary cancer, as well as implementation resources for increasing identification of patients with hereditary cancer and improving access to genetics services. Resources in the toolkit can be used based on individual clinician or institution needs and include:
- Software options for genetic evaluation and risk assessment
- Literature on population screening and patient navigation for hereditary cancer
- Staffing and professional development information for navigators, genetic counseling assistants, and genetic counselors
- Navigator workflows and outcomes tracking resources
- Clinician education resources pertaining to various topics focused on genetic testing and risk assessment
- Resources for using non-traditional service delivery models
- Patient navigation resources on a variety of topics
- Resources on managing patients with hereditary cancer syndromes
- Resources for cascade testing
- Hereditary cancer risk assessment tools
- Workflows for implementing population-based screening for hereditary cancer
