Literature Review on BRCA Testing Patterns and Barriers in U.S. Breast Cancer Care

A targeted literature review summarizes 35 publications up to September 2024 on real-world patterns of germline BRCA mutation testing in breast cancer patients in the United States. The review, authored by Kathryn Mishkin, includes 32 unique studies and identifies trends, misconceptions, and barriers to testing. The document was last updated on April 27, 2026.

Use Cases

• Analyzing trends in BRCA testing adoption over time based on reported increases from 7% to 47%
• Identifying systemic barriers to genetic testing based on reported issues like cost, insurance, and guideline clarity
• Studying knowledge gaps among patients and physicians regarding genetic testing based on reported misconceptions and confidence levels

Strengths

• Focuses on a specific, clinically relevant topic: germline BRCA testing in U.S. breast cancer patients
• Synthesizes evidence from 35 publications representing 32 unique studies
• Explicitly identifies concrete barriers like high costs and variable access to genetic counseling

Limitations

• Data is presented as a literature review document (DOCX), not structured data; column-level documentation is absent
• The majority of included studies had data collection periods prior to 2020, limiting recency of primary evidence
• Row count and structured data fields are unknown, which may limit quantitative analysis

Provenance

Source

figshare

Collection Method

Targeted literature review of published studies

Time Range

Studies published up to September 2024, with trends noted since the early 2000s

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-27 04:14:39; freshness should be verified as the underlying literature review covers studies up to September 2024.

Geography

United States