Genetic testing and counseling challenges in personalized breast cancer care: review article with insights from Türkiye.

According to current evidence, testing for germline BRCA pathogenic variants in newly diagnosed breast cancer (BC) patients has the potential to reduce the burden of the disease through targeted therapies and secondary prevention. A personalized approach to testing can lead to improved individual outcomes for patients. Despite the proven clinical utility and therapeutic impact of BRCA1/2 tests in shaping therapy for metastatic BC, awareness and access to these tests are limited in many developing countries, including Türkiye. This limitation impacts the healthcare economy as delayed or missed interventions can lead to increased long-term costs. The limited access is mainly due to fear of stigmatization among patients, country-specific legislation and costs, a lack of awareness, vagueness surrounding the tests and access restrictions. This review offers a perspective for policymakers and healthcare providers in Türkiye to establish pathways that integrate the patient experience into comprehensive care pathways and national cancer control plans.

Recent studies show that testing for a specific gene change in people newly diagnosed with breast cancer can help reduce the impact the disease has on their life as they can be given special treatments. When tests are tailored to each person, they can get better results. However, in many countries, including Türkiye, not many people know about or can get these tests. This is because of concerns about being judged, rules in the country, the cost, confusion about the tests and limited access. Not having these tests can make healthcare more expensive in the long run. This article suggests ways for Türkiye's leaders and health workers to make these tests a regular part of cancer care and planning.

Reasons for complementary therapy use by cancer patients, information sources and communication with health professionals.

BACKGROUND: Cancer patients are known to commonly use complementary therapies (CT). However, it is emphasized that patients do not share sufficient information with health professionals about this subject and that the subject is ignored in oncology practice. The aim of the study is to assess cancer patients' reasons for using complementary therapy, information resources and communication with health professionals. METHODS: The study is a descriptive, cross-sectional study. In this study, a questionnaire was used by the researchers. A questionnaire form consisting of 3 parts was used. In the first part of this form, there were questions about the gender, age and educational status of the patients (8 questions). In the second part, there were questions about disease and treatment information (3 questions), and the third part had questions about the use of complementary therapies (9 questions). To determine the use of complementary therapy, patients were asked 'Do you currently use complementary treatment?' (Yes or No). 183 patients included in the study completed the questionnaire about complementary therapies. RESULTS: In this study, it was determined that 37.7% of the patients were using complementary therapies. The most commonly used complementary therapy was natural products (46.4%). The most common reason for using complementary therapy was to provide support for treatment. Almost half of the cancer patients (48.5%) did not talk about this issue with their physicians, and 41.1% of them did not talk about CT with their nurses. The study found that the most important reason why the patients did not talk about CT was that they were not asked about it by health professionals. CONCLUSION: This study determined that almost half of patients could not receive information about CT from health professionals. Patients expect physicians and nurses to initiate communication on this subject. Providing healthcare professionals with evidence-based counseling about CT is essential for improving patient safety and patient outcomes.