Is traceback worthwhile?

Hospital-based ovarian cancer patient traceback program results in minimal genetic testing uptake

https://tinyurl.com/2ywc9r95

 

         Well-meaning actions may sometimes prove to be pointless. One such seems to be traceback for ovarian cancer patients. Traceback, a term first described in 2017 by the National Cancer Institute refers to the attempt to contact survivors and the families of ovarian cancer patients with the intent of performing genetic screening.

         This study looked at 598 instances where traceback was attempted for women who had ovarian cancer during the period 2006 -16.  Of these women 163 were thought to be survivors and for the rest an attempt to contact family was done.

         Results from this group showed only 14 (3%) made appointments for genetic screening. Less than 25% of contacts to family were successful, with many contacts seemingly causing distress due to anxiety or confusion. Best responses were with daughters of women affected. It seems that traceback is not an effective use of scarce resources