10- Informational needs and attitudes toward pharmacogenomic testing among parents of ethnically diverse pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients

There are significant disparities in survival rates for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), with Latino and Black patients having worse outcomes. These disparities may be partially due to germline variability in drug metabolizing enzymes and transporters responsible for drug disposition. Pharmacogenomic (PGx) testing, which examines an individual’s DNA to assess their physiological reaction to certain medications, may have significant clinical utility for this patient population. Yet, research has shown that patients and parents have concerns about PGx testing, and parents of Latino ethnicity may have distinct or accentuated considerations when making decisions about PGx testing. We interviewed parents of children with ALL from ethnically diverse backgrounds (current n=6; goal n=30) to explore their attitudes toward PGx testing and their informational needs and preferences for results. Preliminary results show parents believed PGx testing may aid in identifying the most effective medication for their child’s treatment, preventing negative side effects by avoiding certain medications, and overall improving treatment outcomes. However, parents expressed concerns about the privacy and confidentiality of the results and test accuracy. Some parents expressed a need for information on how testing is conducted as well as its potential negative impacts before deciding to use PGx testing. When asked about results disclosure, parents emphasized their preference for in-person communication rather than having a virtual assistant or chatbot relay PGx results. Despite expressing that they were not interested in virtual assistance for results disclosure, a few parents suggested they would utilize such a system as an educational feature.