Germline genetic testing can change a cancer patient’s treatment and how their family members are cared for, yet many patients are not able to access testing, and patients who live in rural communities, have lower literacy and who do not speak English are especially impacted. We are developing a multilingual conversational agent to provide genetic education to help overcome these barriers, and automated counseling to promote genetic testing in cancer patients at clinical centers in Los Angeles and Rochester.
This work is supported by the National Cancer Institute, and is a collaboration with Charite Ricker (USC, Los Angeles County Hospital), Daniell Braun (Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard School of Public Health), Matthew Yurgelun (Dana Farber Cancer Institute), and Meghan Underhill-Blazey (University of Rochester Medical Center).