AI Insight
This case-control study analyzed data from over 26 million individuals across a multistate clinical network in the southern United States to examine how social determinants of health (SDoH) influence receipt of BRCA genetic testing among patients with breast, ovarian, pancreatic, and prostate cancers. Among 3,279 cancer patients, higher educational attainment, public-sector employment, neighborhood safety, and social participation were associated with increased likelihood of BRCA testing, while economic instability, housing cost burden, and reliance on public insurance were associated with reduced testing. A random forest machine learning model achieved an AUROC of 0.776 in predicting which patients were likely to undergo testing, with nativity, language, and residential stability identified as the most influential social factors.
Why it matters
These findings suggest that disparities in BRCA genetic testing are substantially driven by structural and social barriers rather than clinical eligibility alone, indicating that integrating SDoH data into clinical workflows and directing navigation resources toward socially disadvantaged populations could improve equitable access to genetic testing and ultimately cancer outcomes.
⚠️ Preprint – Noch nicht peer-reviewed
Dieser Artikel wurde noch nicht von unabhängigen Experten begutachtet. Die Ergebnisse sind vorläufig und sollten mit Vorsicht interpretiert werden.
Importance BRCA genetic testing is critical for cancer risk assessment, treatment and personalization, yet substantial underutilization persists. Socioeconomic and clinical factors may strongly influence testing uptake; therefore, identifying the potential drivers to BRCA testing and treatment is essential for addressing gaps in access, increasing retention into care, and improving cancer outcomes. Objective To quantify the putatively causal effects of SDoH on BRCA genetic testing among individuals with breast, ovarian, pancreatic, and prostate cancers and to develop a predictive model to identify patients at risk for underuse of testing. Design, Setting, and Participants This observational case-control study used data from a large multistate clinical research data network covering southern US (2012-2023). The network contained records of more than 26 million individuals and was linked with ZIP code-level SDoH variables derived from national socioeconomic datasets. Adults diagnosed with breast, ovarian, pancreatic, or prostate cancer were eligible for cases (received BRCA testing) or controls (did not receive BRCA testing, matched by cancer diagnosis). Exposure SDoH categories, including economic conditions, education, healthcare access, neighborhood conditions, and social connectedness. Main Outcomes and Measures The primary outcome was receipt of BRCA genetic testing after cancer diagnosis. Results Among 3,279 people diagnosed with cancer, 748 received BRCA testing and 2,531 served as controls. Study population mean [SD] age was 66.8 [15.7] years; 1,758 were women [53.6%], 2,238 [69.6%] were White and 616 [18.8%] were Black or African American. Breast (1,420 [42.8%]) and prostate (1,342 [40.9%]) cancers were the most common diagnoses, followed by pancreatic (242 [7.4%]), ovarian (238 [7.2%]), and multiple cancers (55 [1.7%]). Upon adjusting for potential confounding, higher educational attainment (odds ratio [OR], 1.19), public-sector employment (OR, 1.42), neighborhood safety (OR, 1.28), and social participation (OR, 1.72) showed an increased likelihood of undergoing BRCA testing, whereas economic instability, including housing cost burden and reliance on public insurance, had an effect of reduced testing. A random forest classifier demonstrated good discriminative performance (AUROC, 0.776) to predict cancer patients who were likely to take BRCA testing, where nativity, language, and residential stability ranked among the most influential social determinants according to SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) analysis. Conclusions and Relevance In this observational case-control study, SDoHs were strongly associated with receipt of BRCA genetic testing among people with cancer. These findings suggest that disparities in genetic testing may reflect structural and social barriers rather than differences in clinical eligibility alone. Efforts to improve equitable access to genetic testing may benefit from integrating social-context information into clinical workflows and targeting outreach or navigation strategies toward socially disadvantaged populations.