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If We Build It … Will They Come? – Establishing a Cancer Genetics Services Clinic for an Underserved Predominantly Latina Cohort

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Journal of Genetic Counseling

Background: Cancer genetic counseling and testing is a standard of care option for appropriate families and can identify individuals at increased risk prior to diagnosis, when prevention or detection strategies are most effective. Despite documented efficacy of cancer risk reduction in high-risk individuals, underserved and minority individuals have a disproportionate cancer burden and limited access to genetic counseling. Methods: A needs assessment survey documented gaps in knowledge and interest in prevention. Satellite clinics were established at two indigent healthcare systems. Cancer genetics CME lectures were conducted and referral guidelines disseminated to clinicians who referred patients for counseling. Results: An increase in clinician knowledge was demonstrated post-CME and reflected by quality referrals. Eighty-eight percent of patients kept their appointments. In the predominantly Latina6 (n=77) clinic population, 71.4% were affected with cancer, and 17 mutation positive families were identified. Preliminary data shows a positive impact on patients' motivation and behavior. The majority has expressed satisfaction and reduction in anxiety. Conclusions: This study demonstrates feasibility and acceptability of cancer genetics services in this population, suggesting the potential to reduce cancer morbidity in underserved, high-risk families.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The study was supported in part by California Cancer Research Program of the University of California grants 99-86874 and 00-92133 and by a General Clinical Research Center grant from NIH (M01 RR00043) awarded to the City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center, Duarte, California.

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  1. Charité Ricker

    Present address: Cancer Genetics Program, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center, Clinical Cancer Genetics, Duarte, CA, USA

    Charité Ricker, Veronica Lagos, Kelly Gonzalez, Melanie Palomares, Kathleen Blazer, Katrina Lowstuter, Deborah MacDonald & Jeffrey Weitzel

  2. OliveView-UCLA Medical Center, Sylmar, California, USA

    Nancy Feldman & Susan Hiyama

  3. QueensCare Health and Faith Partnership, Los Angeles, California, USA

    Sue Fuentes & Visanth Kumar

  4. Department of Clinical Cancer Genetics, City of Hope National Medical Center, 1500 East Duarte Rd., Duarte, California, USA

    Jeffrey Weitzel

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  1. Charité Ricker
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  2. Veronica Lagos
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  3. Nancy Feldman
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  4. Susan Hiyama
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  5. Sue Fuentes
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  6. Visanth Kumar
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  7. Kelly Gonzalez
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  8. Melanie Palomares
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  9. Kathleen Blazer
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  10. Katrina Lowstuter
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  11. Deborah MacDonald
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  12. Jeffrey Weitzel
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jeffrey Weitzel.

Additional information

“Latino” is the most common census term for individuals of Spanish, Mexican, Central and South American, Cuban, or Puerto Rican descent, referring to ethnicity, and is generally considered a more ethnically/culturally based term for individuals of the aforementioned groups. As this cohort is female the feminine noun “Latina” is used

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Ricker, C., Lagos, V., Feldman, N. et al. If We Build It … Will They Come? – Establishing a Cancer Genetics Services Clinic for an Underserved Predominantly Latina Cohort. J Genet Counsel 15, 505–514 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10897-006-9052-5

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