1584 Background: This study compared patient-reported stress, anxiety, and depression between newly diagnosed ovarian cancer patients with pathogenic genetic testing results versus patients with non-informative results (i.e., variants of uncertain significance (VUS) or negative). Methods: Patients underwent genetic testing (GT) via a facilitated referral pathway (Frey et al, Gynecol Oncol 2020) through which they were referred for genetic counseling and GT by their gynecologic oncologist within six weeks of diagnosis from 10/2015 to 5/2019. English-speaking patients completed three quality of life (QoL) instruments: Impact of Events Scale (IOES), State-Trait Anxiety Questionnaire (STAI), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) immediately pre-and post-GT and 6 months post GT. Two-way mixed ANOVA was performed to analyze effect of GT results on QoL over time with significance p < 0.05. Results: One hundred ten patients were enrolled in the pathway and 83 (76%) patients underwent GT. Among these, 15 (18%) had potentially actionable pathogenic mutations ( BRCA1-8, BRCA2-4, MSH2-2, MRE11A-1); 26 (31%) had VUS results; 3 (4%) had both a pathogenic mutation and a VUS result; and 42 (51%) had negative results. Sixty patients (72%) completed QoL assessments pre and post GT, and 37 (44%) patients at 6-9 months post GT. For all patients, GT results did not affect QoL scales across our time points. By mean scores across all-comers, patients demonstrated mild stress at each time point and clinically significant anxiety immediate post-GT. All patients had a statistically significance decrease in HADS depression scores over time from pre-GT to 6 months post-GT (mean score 4.98 vs 2.97, p = 0.020). Patients with VUS had lower HADS mean anxiety scores across time (3.62) compared to patients with pathogenic (7.44) or negative mutations (6.83, p = 0.029). For patients without mutations, there was a significant decrease in clinically significant anxiety by STAI-state score at 6 months (p = 0.002) and a decrease in borderline anxiety by HADS scores at 6 months (p = 0.005). This effect was not present for patients with pathogenic mutations or VUS. Conclusions: A pathogenic result does not impact QoL scales immediately pre or post GT or at 6 months post GT, though patients with negative mutations were more likely to show a decrease in anxiety over time. Patients should be recommended GT at time of diagnosis of ovarian cancer without concern of increased stress, anxiety, or depression based on GT results.
Corrigendum to “The sooner the better: Genetic testing following ovarian cancer diagnosis” [Gynecol. Oncol. 137 (2015) 423–429]
