April 9, 2021
Tumor gene profiling is a tool that can help patients with a cancer diagnosis make informed decisions about treatment. In predominantly white populations, among men with early stage, favorable-risk prostate cancer, these tools have been shown to increase patient acceptance of active surveillance a common, evidence-based approach to monitor the tumor before a more aggressive treatment, like surgery or radiation.
However, a new study from researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago and Northwestern University shows that in a predominantly Black, urban patient population with substantial social disadvantage, tumor profiling had the opposite effect among men with clinically similar prostate cancers it decreased patient acceptance of active surveillance. In fact, men with low health literacy were more than seven times less likely to accept active surveillance if their tumors were profiled, compared with those with high health literacy.