Parent and patient knowledge and attitudes about cancer predisposition syndrome genetic testing in pediatric oncology: Understanding sociodemographic and parent–child differences

Abstract

Background: Cancer predisposition syndromes (CPS) impact about 10% of patients with pediatric cancer. Genetic testing (CPS-GT) has multiple benefits, but few studies have described parent and child knowledge and attitudes regarding CPS-GT decision-making. This study examined parent and patient CPS-GT decision-making knowledge and attitudes. Procedure: English- or Spanish-speaking parents of children with pediatric cancer and patients with pediatric cancer ages 15–18 within 12 months of diagnosis or relapse were eligible to participate. Seventy-five parents and 19 parent-patient dyads (N = 94 parents, 77.7% female, 43.6% Latino/a/Hispanic; 19 patients, 31.6% female) completed surveys measuring CPS-GT-related beliefs. Independent samples t-tests compared parent responses across sociodemographic characteristics and parent-patient responses within dyads. Results: Spanish-speaking parents were significantly more likely than English-speaking parents to believe that CPS-GT not being helpful (p