Chinese American and Non-Hispanic White Breast Cancer Patients’ Knowledge and Use of BRCA Testing

Abstract

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among Chinese American women. Knowing the BRCA1 and BRCA2 (BRCA1/2) gene mutation status can improve breast cancer patients’ health outcomes by guiding targeted treatment towards preventing breast cancer recurrence and other BRCA-related cancers. Nevertheless, it is unclear if there is a disparity in knowledge and use of BRCA testing among Chinese American breast cancer patients. This cross-sectional study investigated the possible presence of differences in the knowledge and the use of BRCA testing between Chinese American and Non-Hispanic White (NHW) breast cancer patients. We surveyed 45 Chinese American and 48 NHW adult breast cancer patients who had been diagnosed with breast cancer within the previous two years through telephone interviews. The results showed that race was not statistically related to the use of BRCA testing. BRCA testing utilization was associated with family history (p < 0.05) and age (p < 0.05). However, Chinese American participants’ understanding of BRCA testing was significantly lower than that of NHW participants (p = 0.030). Our findings suggest that a disparity exists in BRCA testing knowledge between Chinese American and NHW breast cancer patients. Genetic education and counseling are needed to improve BRCA testing knowledge and uptake among Chinese American breast cancer patients.