SynthesisHealth psychology : official journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association2009
Emotional distress following genetic testing for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer: a meta-analytic review.
Synthesis in Health psychology : official journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association, 2009. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 114 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
114 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Assessing Psychological Morbidity in Cancer-UnaffectedCurrent oncology (Toronto, Ont.) · 2023Pooled it
- Family Adjustment to Hereditary Cancer Syndromes: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- Psychological aspects, risk and protective factors related to BRCA genetic testing: a review of the literature.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2019Pooled it
- Psychological Distress, Anxiety, and Depression of Cancer-Affected BRCA1/2 Mutation Carriers: a Systematic Review.Journal of genetic counseling · 2016Pooled it
- The psychological impact of genetic information on children: a systematic review.Genetics in medicine : official journal of the American College of Medical Genetics · 2016Pooled it
- Trial
- The ENGAGE study: a 3-arm randomized hybrid type 1 effectiveness and implementation study of an in-home, collaborative PCP model of remote telegenetic services to increase uptake of cancer genetic services in childhood cancer survivors.BMC health services research · 2024Trial
- Trial
- Psychosocial and behavioral impact of breast cancer risk assessed by testing for common risk variants: protocol of a prospective study.BMC cancer · 2017Trial
- Trial
- Randomized controlled trial of a psychosocial telephone counseling intervention in BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers.Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology · 2010Trial
- Whole-body MRI, healthcare ethics and access equity: Where are we? Where are we going?Radiology advances · 2026Article
- A randomized study of digital versus genetic counselor return of actionable genetic research results to biobank participants (RESPECT3 study).BMC medical ethics · 2026Article
- Review
- Advancing Germline Genetic Testing for Breast Cancer in Resource-Restricted Settings: Evidence, Barriers, and a Practical Roadmap for Implementation.Breast cancer (Dove Medical Press) · 2026Review
- The increasing role of breast-conserving treatment in patients with BRCA-related breast cancer: an appraisal of recent literature.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Review
- Changes in life decisions and in emotions following genetic testing for cancer risk.BMC psychology · 2025Article
- Reliability and validity of the multidimensional impact of cancer risk assessment (MICRA) questionnaire: Japanese version.Familial cancer · 2025Article
- Psychological Well-Being in Breast Cancer: A Literature Review of the Impact of Precision Oncology and Radiogenomics.Cureus · 2025Review
- Emotional distress and quality of life in high and moderate penetrance germline mutations carriers diagnosed with breast cancer: a preliminary study.Medicine and pharmacy reports · 2025Article
54 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveMeta-analysis was used to synthesize results of studies on emotional consequences of predictive genetic testing for BRCA1/2 mutations conferring increased risk of breast and ovarian cancer.
designStudies assessing anxiety or cancer-specific distress before and after provision of test results (k = 20) were analyzed using a random-effects model. Moderator variables included country of data collection and personal cancer history of study participants.
main outcome measuresStandardized mean gain effect sizes were calculated for mutation carriers, noncarriers, and those with inconclusive results over short (0-4 weeks), moderate (5-24 weeks), or long (25-52 weeks) periods of time after testing.
resultsDistress among carriers increased shortly after receiving results and returned to pretesting levels over time. Distress among noncarriers and those with inconclusive results decreased over time. Some distress patterns differed in studies conducted outside the United States and for individuals with varying cancer histories.
conclusionResults underscore the importance of time; changes in distress observed shortly after test-result disclosure frequently differed from the pattern of distress seen subsequently. Although emotional consequences of this testing appear minimal, it remains possible that testing may affect cognitive and behavioral outcomes, which have rarely been examined through meta-analysis. Testing may also affect understudied subgroups differently.
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Registered trials
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