title: Genetic test reporting enhances understanding of risk information and acceptance of prevention recommendations compared to family history-based counseling alone.
abstract: It is unknown whether or why genetic test reporting confers benefits in the understanding and management of cancer risk beyond what patients learn from counseling based on family history. A prospective nonexperimental control group study compared participants from melanoma-prone families who underwent CDKN2A/p16 (p16) genetic testing (27 carriers, 38 noncarriers) to participants from equivalently melanoma-prone families known not to carry a deleterious p16 mutation (31 no-test controls). All participants received equivalent counseling concerning elevated lifetime melanoma risk and corresponding recommendations for prevention and screening. Both immediately and 1 month after counseling, participants receiving a genetic test result reported greater understanding of their risk, decreased derogation of the risk information, and greater personal applicability of prevention recommendations than no-test controls. Decreased derogation of risk information after test reporting predicted further increases in understanding of melanoma risk and applicability of prevention recommendations 1 month later. Results suggest unique benefits of genetic test reporting in promoting understanding and acceptance of information about hereditary cancer risk and its management.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Utah, 380 South 1530 East, Room 502, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112-0251, USA.
authors.forename: Jennifer M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Taber
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Utah, 380 South 1530 East, Room 502, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112-0251, USA. lisa.aspinwall@utah.edu.
authors.forename: Lisa G
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Aspinwall
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Utah, 380 South 1530 East, Room 502, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112-0251, USA.
authors.forename: Tammy K
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Stump
authors.affiliation: Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
authors.forename: Wendy
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Kohlmann
authors.affiliation: Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
authors.forename: Marjan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Champine
authors.affiliation: Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA.
authors.forename: Sancy A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Leachman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D019941:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p16 / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D005817:Genetic Counseling; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D005820:Genetic Testing; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000235:genetics*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics*; D055815:Young Adult; D000096142:Cutaneous Malignant Melanoma
chemical_list: D019941:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p16
keywords: CDKN2A/p16; Defensive processing; Genetic testing; Illness coherence; Melanoma; Understanding of risk