Implementation of Universal Pan-Cancer Germline Genetic Testing in an Arab Population: The Jordanian Exploratory Cancer Genetics Study.

Germline genetic testing (GGT) significantly affects cancer care. While universal testing has been studied in Western societies, less is known about adoption elsewhere. In this study, 3,319 unselected, pan-cancer Jordanian patients diagnosed between April 2021 and September 2022 received GGT. Pathogenic germline variant (PGV) frequency among patients who were in-criteria (IC) or out-of-criteria (OOC; 2020 National Comprehensive Cancer Network criteria) and changes in clinical management in response to GGT results were evaluated. Statistical analysis was performed using two-tailed Fisher's exact test with significance level The cohort was predominantly female (69.9%), with a mean age of 53.7 years at testing, and 53.1% were IC. While patients who were IC were more likely than patients who were OOC to have a PGV (15.8% Universal GGT of patients with newly diagnosed cancer was successfully implemented in Jordan and led to identification of actionable PGVs that would have been missed with guidelines-based testing.