Purpose: About half of unaffected BRCA1/2 carriers have a negative family history, confounding efforts toward presymptomatic carrier identification. Ovarian cancer is preventable for known carriers but is otherwise highly lethal. Cost-effectiveness and gains in life expectancy are important factors in evaluating the desirability of population-based genetic screening, currently the only viable strategy to identify carriers with unrevealing family histories. Methods: Cost-utility analysis for a population-based genetic screening program offered to American Ashkenazi Jewish women aged 35-55 years measuring cancer incidence, life expectancy, and cost. Results: Our model predicts that a genetic screening program would result in 2811 fewer cases of ovarian cancer, with a life expectancy gain of 1.83 quality-adjusted life years among carriers. At a cost of $460 for founder mutation testing, the cost of the program is $8300 (discounted) per year of quality-adjusted life gained.
Conclusion:In populations with a high prevalence of BRCA1/2 founder mutations, genetic screening may be cost-effective when compared with recommended public health interventions such as mammographic screening. We advocate the initiation of a dialogue among Jewish stakeholders, genetics professionals, and public health leaders to determine whether a population-based BRCA1/2 genetic screening program should be pursued. Genet Med 2009:11(9):629 -639.
Key Words: BRCA1, BRCA2, decision analysis, ovarian carcinoma, population-based genetic screeningA n inherited predisposition to hereditary breast and ovarian cancer should be heralded by a strong cancer family history, but surprisingly often, it is not. Incomplete penetrance, sexlimited expression, limited family structure, and incomplete family history information all contribute to the frequent observation of hereditary cancer cases, which lack premonitory clues. Female BRCA1/2 carriers who are unaware of their genetic status cannot undertake recommended measures such as early mammography and breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or avail themselves of risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy after completion of childbearing. Women with nonscreen detected, early-onset breast cancer and those who develop ovarian cancer can be expected to face much higher morbidity and mortality than if they were undergoing high-risk management.An underlying assumption in clinical cancer genetics is that by maximizing the efficiency of the referral pipeline through such means as physician and patient education and computerized family history tools, most unaffected BRCA1/2 carriers could be identified before developing cancer. High-risk management could then be instituted in a family-centered manner to reduce the cancer burden. Although this holds true for families with recognizable features of hereditary cancer, several studies suggest that about half of all BRCA1/2 families cannot be identified using this approach. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] BRCA1/2 mutation prevalence rates have been measured in several population-based...