Beamer, Laura C

Blazer, Kathleen

Grant, Marcia

Hampel, Heather

Huizenga, Carin

MacDonald, Deborah J

Weitzel, Jeffrey N

Hereditary Cancer in Clinical Practice

English

PubMed

Laura C Beamer

Marcia Grant

Deborah J MacDonald

Heather Hampel

Kathleen Blazer

Carin Huizenga

Jeffrey N Weitzel

Springer - Publisher Connector

POSTER PRESENTATION Open Access
Reflex microsatellite instability &
immunohistochemistry testing practices &
follow-up of abnormal results at U.S.
cancer programs
Laura C Beamer1*, Marcia Grant2, Deborah J MacDonald1, Heather Hampel3, Kathleen Blazer1, Carin Huizenga1,
Jeffrey N Weitzel1
From 14th Annual Meeting of the Collaborative Group of the Americas on Inherited Colorectal Cancer
Dallas, TX, USA. 12-13 October 2010
Background
Abnormal results of microsatellite instability (MSI) or
immunohistochemistry (IHC) testing of colorectal
(CRC) tumors may suggest the presence of Lynch Syn-
drome (LS), a hereditary cause of CRC. Individuals with
LS are at high risk for second primary cancers. Abnor-
mal results of MSI and IHC testing influence care deci-
sions. MSI is also a prognostic marker. The purpose of
this survey-based study is to determine the current MSI
and IHC testing practices and subsequent follow-up of
abnormal results in U.S. cancer programs. The study
aims include to: 1) explore the practice of MSI/IHC
testing based on type of cancer program and the num-
ber of CRC cases accessioned during 2009 and 2) identi-
fying the process and factors associated with follow-up
of abnormal results. Routine MSI and IHC testing of
CRC tumors is an emerging practice in the U.S. To
date, no published studies were found that describe the
practice of reflex testing for MSI and IHC abnormalities
on colorectal tumors in the U.S.
Methods and materials
A study packet (i.e., letter of invitation, survey, $5.00
incentive, and postage-paid return envelope) will be
mailed to the cancer program and tumor registry direc-
tors at the 40 NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer
Centers, 567 ACS-accredited Community Hospital Com-
prehensive Cancer Programs, and 521 ACS-accredited
Community Hospital Cancer Programs in the U.S. Col-
laboration between the directors of the cancer program
and tumor registry will be encouraged and only one set
of survey responses per cancer program will be retained.
The survey was developed based on input from an inter-
nal and external panel of experts and revised following
pilot testing in 22 centers (99.5% return rate). The sur-
vey includes 11 check-box items of which 6 also have
an option to write in comments. Recruitment will follow
Dillman’s method (i.e. pre-notice letter; study packet,
thank you/reminder postcard; repeating up to 2 cycles).
Center characteristics and MSI/IHC practices will be
summarized using descriptive statistics. Chi square tests
will explore associations between type of cancer pro-
gram and MSI/IHC testing practices. Analysis of var-
iance or planned comparisons will examine differences
between program’s CRC cases in 2009 and the type of
cancer program. Content analysis will be used to analyze
narrative responses to survey questions.
Conclusions
The findings of this study may influence (and ultimately
enhance) uptake and translation of MSI and IHC testing
practices for newly diagnosed CRC tumors, which may
lead to improved cancer screening and prevention
practices.
* Correspondence: lbeamer@coh.org
1Division of Clinical Cancer Genetics, City of Hope National Medical Center,
Duarte, CA 91010, USA
Full list of author information is available at the end of the article
Beamer et al. Hereditary Cancer in Clinical Practice 2011, 9(Suppl 1):P2
http://www.hccpjournal.com/content/9/S1/P2
© 2011 Beamer et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons
Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in
any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Author details
1Division of Clinical Cancer Genetics, City of Hope National Medical Center,
Duarte, CA 91010, USA. 2Division of Nursing Research & Education, City of
Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA 91010, USA. 3Division of Human
Genetics, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43240, USA.
Published: 10 March 2011
doi:10.1186/1897-4287-9-S1-P2
Cite this article as: Beamer et al.: Reflex microsatellite instability &
immunohistochemistry testing practices & follow-up of abnormal
results at U.S. cancer programs. Hereditary Cancer in Clinical Practice 2011
9(Suppl 1):P2.
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Beamer et al. Hereditary Cancer in Clinical Practice 2011, 9(Suppl 1):P2
http://www.hccpjournal.com/content/9/S1/P2
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