Genetic Counseling in African American Women

August 15, 2016 updated by: University of Pennsylvania

Genetic Counseling for Breast Cancer Susceptibility in African American Women

The objectives of this study are to develop a Culturally Tailored Genetic (CTGC) protocol for African American women and evaluate its impact on decision making and satisfaction about BRCA1/2 testing, quality of life, and cancer control practices compared to Standard Genetic Counseling (SGC). A secondary objective of this study is to identify African American women who are most and least likely to benefit from CTGC vs. SGC.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Five to 10% of all breast cancer cases have been attributed to two breast ovarian cancer susceptibility genes called BRCA1 and BRCA2 (BRCA1/2). Genetic counseling and testing for BRCA1/2 mutations is now available through clinical research programs using standard counseling protocols. The goal of pre test counseling is to facilitate informed decision making about whether to be tested and to prepare participants for possible outcomes. The goal of post test counseling is to provide information about risk status, recommendations for surveillance, and options for prevention. However, previous research suggests that African American and Caucasian women differ in their attitudes about and responses to pre test education and counseling. Increasingly, cultural beliefs and values are being recognized as important factors in genetic counseling. Despite recommendations to increase the cultural sensitivity of breast cancer risk counseling, such programs have not been developed or evaluated. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to develop a Culturally Tailored Genetic Counseling (CTGC) protocol for African American women and evaluate its impact on psychological functioning and health behaviors compared with Standard Genetic Counseling (SGC) in a randomized clinical trial.

  1. To evaluate the relative impact of CTGC vs. SGC on decision making and satisfaction about BRCA1/2 testing. Compared to SGC, CTGC will lead to higher rates of test acceptance and satisfaction with testing decisions. These effects will be mediated by increases in perceived benefits and decreases in perceived limitations and risks of genetic testing.
  2. To evaluate the impact of CTGC vs. SGC on quality of life and health behaviors following BRCA1/2 testing. Compared to SGC, CTGC will lead to larger decreases in general and cancer specific distress, greater increases in adherence to cancer screening guidelines, and lower rates of prophylactic surgery. Reductions in psychological distress will be mediated by increased use of spiritual coping strategies.

Secondary Aim

To identify African American women who are most and least likely to benefit from CTGC vs. SGC. We predict that the relative benefits of CTGC will be greatest for women with greater endorsement of African American cultural values and those identified as BRCA1/2 carriers.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

204

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Pennsylvania
      • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 19104
        • University of Pennsylvania

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 85 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

Female

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Female
  • African American or Black
  • 5% to 10% prior probability of having a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Men
  • Individuals who are not African American or Black

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Psychological functioning
Cancer screening behaviors
Cancer risk reduction behaviors

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University of Pennsylvania

Collaborators

United States Department of Defense

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Chanita Hughes-Halbert, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

February 1, 2003

Primary Completion (Actual)

September 1, 2012

Study Completion (Actual)

September 1, 2012

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

January 4, 2007

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 5, 2007

First Posted (Estimate)

January 8, 2007

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

August 17, 2016

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 15, 2016

Last Verified

August 1, 2016

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 704355
  • DAMD17-00-1-0262

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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