Impact of a mainstream genetic testing pathway and socioeconomic factors on uptake of germline genetic testing in breast cancer

Not all eligible breast cancer patients undergo genetic testing. It is unknown whether pre-test counselling by non-genetic health care professionals (‘mainstream genetic testing’; MGT) improves overall genetic testing uptake. The nationwide GENE-SMART study in The Netherlands found that MGT significantly increased genetic testing uptake among all eligible patients and across all socioeconomic subgroups. Educating health care professionals about current discrepancies in genetic testing is needed.