PERCEPTION OF BREAST-CANCER RISK AMONG WOMEN IN BREAST CENTER AND PRIMARY-CARE SETTINGS - CORRELATION WITH AGE AND FAMILY HISTORY OF BREAST-CANCER

Background, A great deal of information about breast cancer risk is av ailable to the public. The accuracy of impressions formed from this in formation is unknown. Methods, A total of 750 women attending a breast center and 112 women attending a primary care office completed writte n surveys of their perceptions of average population risk, personal li fetime risk, and personal 10-year risk of getting breast cancer. Data sufficient to apply the Gall model were obtained, and a calculated est imate of risk was generated. Ratios of perceived to calculated risk we re correlated with the respondent's age, family history of breast canc er, and location in a breast center or primary care office. Results. W omen in both practice settings overestimated population risk by more t han twofold. Eighty percent overestimated personal lifetime risk by mo re than 50% and 35% by more than fivefold. Only 7% significantly under estimated risk. Ten-year risk estimates were even more inaccurate, wit h 69% overestimating risk by more than fivefold 46% by more than 10-fo ld, and 17% by more than 20-fold. Results from a primary care populati on were nearly identical. Women at the extremes of age were most inacc urate in estimating risk. It was surprising that family history had li ttle impact on perception of personal risk. Conclusions, Women in both breast center and primary care settings have a falsely high perceptio n of both short-term and long-term breast cancer risk. Health care pro viders should recognize these misconceptions and be aware that many wo men may benefit from risk counseling.