title: Participant views on consent in cancer genetics research: preparing for the precision medicine era.
abstract: The Precision Medicine Initiative (PMI) has created considerable discussions about research participant issues including re-consent and how and when to incorporate the patient experience into clinical trials. Within the changing landscape of genetic and genomic research, the preferences of participants are lacking yet are needed to inform policy. With the growing use of biobanks intended to support studies, including the national research cohort proposed under the PMI, understanding participant preferences, including re-consent, is a pressing concern. The Participant Issues Project (PIP) addresses this gap, and here we present data on participant attitudes regarding re-consent and broad consent in research studies. PIP study participants came from the Northwest Cancer Genetics Registry and included cancer patients, relatives, and controls. Thirty telephone interviews were conducted and analyzed using content and thematic analysis. Results indicate that in some scenarios, re-consent is needed. Most participants agreed that re-consent was necessary when the study direction changed significantly or a child participant became an adult, but not if the genetic variant changed. Most participants' willingness to participate in research would not be affected if the researcher or institution profited or if a broad consent form were used. Participants emphasized re-consent to provide information and control of the use of their data, now relevant for tailored treatment, while also prioritizing research as important. In the era of precision medicine, it is essential that policy makers consider participant preferences with regard to use of their materials and that participants understand genetic and genomic research and its harms and benefits as well as what broad consent entails, including privacy and re-identification risks.
authors.affiliation: Epidemiology, University of California, Irvine, 224 Irvine Hall, Mail Code: 7550, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA. kedward1@uci.edu.|Epidemiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA. kedward1@uci.edu.
authors.forename: Karen L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Edwards
authors.affiliation: Biomedical Informatics and Medical Education, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
authors.forename: Diane M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Korngiebel
authors.affiliation: Epidemiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
authors.forename: Lesley
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pfeifer
authors.affiliation: Epidemiology, University of California, Irvine, 224 Irvine Hall, Mail Code: 7550, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA.
authors.forename: Deborah
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Goodman
authors.affiliation: Group Health Research Institute, Seattle, WA, USA.
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Renz
authors.affiliation: Medicine and Public Health, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Lari
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wenzel
authors.affiliation: University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.|Community Health Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Deborah J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Bowen
authors.affiliation: Communication Studies, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Celeste M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Condit
keywords: Broad consent; Consent; Genetics; Participant views; Precision medicine; Re-consent