News release: Colorado - Denver/Boulder

March 17, 2004

For more information, call:
Jacque Murphy Montgomery
Kaiser Permanente
Phone: (303) 344-7410
E-mail: Jacque.Montgomery@kp.org

Kaiser Permanente researcher studies advertisements targeting women and heredity breast cancer testing

Findings show increase in referrals, no increase in testing low risk women

Denver, CO – Advertisements encouraging women to be tested for the breast cancer gene had mixed impact on the delivery of genetic services for women. Patient demand for genetic information rose sharply, but demand for genetic testing did not.

From September 2002 to February 2003, Denver was one of two cities that served as a test market for advertisements on heredity breast cancer testing. Concern was raised that the ads from Myriad Genetics would unnecessarily increase women's anxiety and place increased demand for genetic counseling and testing. Kaiser Permanente Genetics Researcher Judy Mouchawar studied those concerns given they were made without basis of fact. Mouchawar analyzed the predicted concerns of increased anxiety, patient misconception, demand for services and strained doctor-patient relationships.

"What we can take from this study is that if advertising continues, oncologists and geneticists in particular can expect a significant increase in referrals and an increase in seeing women with less risk of developing breast cancer being referred," said Mouchawar. "All specialists and primary care physicians should expect an increase in patient requests for information. Education may prove to be a valuable resource in making sure genetic testing is conducted only on women whose level of risk warrants testing."

Kaiser Permanente Colorado provided physicians with necessary educational support, established an informational hotline and held community information sessions. The study included surveys from a random sample of 850 women aged 25 -- 54 years old as well as a random sample of 220 physicians. The response rate in both groups was more than 50 percent. Kaiser Permanente Colorado saw referrals during the advertisement period jump 244 percent over the previous year. More women with lower probability of having the gene were referred and received counseling. There was no significant change in the number of genetic tests conducted on women with low risk during that advertising period.

Kaiser Permanente is a non-profit organization and the largest private health care provider in Colorado. It is rated among the top ten health care organizations in the country for clinical quality by the National Committee for Quality Assurance. Kaiser Permanente cares for more than 414,000 members in the Denver/Boulder and Colorado Springs areas. Kaiser Permanente Colorado is one of eight Kaiser Permanente research centers in the United States. The Clinical Research Unit works to help our members attain and retain good health as well as promote the delivery of high-quality, cost-effective health care to Kaiser Permanente members.