Poll Reveals Only 35 Percent of People Would Seek Genetic Testing for Cancer

A national poll conducted by the University of Utah's Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) revealed that the American public was divided on genetic testing that would predict their likelihood of developing hereditary cancer. Only 35 percent of people said they would compared to 34 percent that said they wouldn't.  

The poll was conducted in October and surveyed 1,202 men and women nationwide between the ages of 25 to 70.

What's interesting is that the poll specifically stated that the cost of testing would not be an issue. While cost was no object, one-third of the people polled still said they would not seek aggressive preventative treatment. The primary reason for this decision was concern over employment and insurability, even though laws prohibit such discrimination.

Forty percent of people who said they would not get tested cited employment concerns as one of their reasons and 69 percent of the same group cited insurability issues. But according to Saundra Buys, M.D., co-director of the Family Cancer Assessment Clinic and Medical Director of the High Risk Cancer Research at HCI, these concerns should not determine whether or not to receive a genetic test.

"I see patients every week who could have taken steps to reduce their risk if they'd known they'd had a predisposition for a certain type of cancer. The best treatment for cancer is prevention, of which genetic testing plays an integral role," Buys said in a EurekAlert article. She also emphasized that concerns about employment and insurability are false barriers to the prevention testing.

However, there were some positive aspects of the poll. About 63 percent of people said they would be very likely to follow all recommended screenings if their family had any cancer history. In addition, 85 percent of respondents said they would undergo a genetic test to determine the most effective course of treatment if they were diagnosed with cancer. Unfortunately, only eight percent of the respondents reported ever undergoing a genetic test. If more people were willing to undergo a genetic test, more cases of cancer could be prevented.

To read more about this University of Utah HCI poll, visit this EurekAlert! article.