Identification of factors that influence the decision to take chemoprevention in patients with a significant family history of breast cancer: results from a patient questionnaire survey.

PURPOSE: Chemoprevention reduces the risk of developing breast cancer in women with increased family history (FH) risk of breast cancer. However, chemoprevention uptake remains low and the reasons for this remain unclear.

METHODS

Patients with moderate- or high-risk FH of breast cancer were counselled about chemoprevention (n = 1620; September 2015 to July 2018) in breast clinics. A postal questionnaire survey was subsequently sent to these patients in order to explore the potential factors influencing their decision on chemoprevention uptake.

RESULTS

518 patients (32%) completed the questionnaire survey; 75% were pre-menopausal and the majority had moderate as opposed to high-risk FH (87.5% vs. 12.5%). Breast cancer chemoprevention uptake rate was 10.8% (56/518). The identified incentives were more commonly stated for patients who took chemoprevention when compared to those who refused chemoprevention. The commonest incentives were breast cancer prevention (89.3% vs. 61.7%; p = 0.001), belief in the effectiveness of chemoprevention (76.8% vs. 63.4%; p = 0.048), and personal perception of breast cancer risk (67.9% vs. 45.5%; p = 0.002). Similarly, the identified barriers were more commonly stated for patients who refused chemoprevention when compared to those who took chemoprevention. The commonest barriers were side effects (79.4% vs. 55.4%; p = 0.001) and lack of information (53% vs. 28.6%; p = 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Despite its proven efficacy, chemoprevention uptake in patients with a significant FH of breast cancer remains low. We have identified important factors which influence the patient's decision making. Future clinic consultations should focus on exploring these factors to aid patient decision making.