Establishing a Cancer Genetics Programme in Asia - the Singapore Experience

Table 7 Demographic characteristics of index patients who declined BRCA1/2 testing despite test cost subsidies and reasons for declining (n = 39)

age
median (range)	36 (23-77)
married	80%
educational level
≤6 years formal education	20%
6-10 years formal education	23%
>10 years formal education/diploma	30%
university/post-graduate degree	27%
reasons for declining genetic testing ^a
siblings/family members not keen	41%
doing this test would not prevent recurrence/change anything much	39%
fear of negative feelings associated with knowing genetic test results	31%
worried about feelings of family	13%
worried about insurance/employability	10%
50% subsidy for predictive testing is still a barrier^b	8%
sceptical about modern medicine such as genetic testing	3%

^apatients were allowed to indicate more than one reason for declining test; ^bcost of single site mutation analysis in predictive testing is S$595 (US$350) and the Singapore government provides 50% reimbursement

ISSN: 1897-4287