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Anyone who suspects they may have a family history of breast and ovarian cancer often needs a great deal of support. Many women feel left to cope on their own, particularly after genetic counselling and receiving a positive test result. This often causes significant emotional distress. Researchers at MHH have developed the GenE³ app to help those affected. The digital application works via a chatbot and provides secure, personalised and reliable information on the subject. The app is now being tested for its effectiveness in a study.
Hereditary factors – known as cancer predispositions – play a role in around five to ten per cent of breast cancer cases and in up to 25 per cent of ovarian cancer cases. Those affected can seek genetic counselling as an important basis for medical decisions. In the course of this, patients often have to process complex information regarding genetic risks, screening options and treatment options. This can sometimes place a significant psychological burden on them. Furthermore, not all questions can be answered, or some only arise after the consultation.
A research team at Hannover Medical School (MHH) led by Dr Beate Vajen, Head of Clinical Administration at the Institute of Human Genetics, together with Dr Dominik Wolff and Dr Thomas Kupka, both researchers at the Peter L. Reichertz Institute for Medical Informatics, now aim to solve this problem with an application they have developed. The GenE³ app – Genetic Disorders Explained Simply – uses a digital assistant to answer questions and provide clear information tailored to the user’s individual circumstances. The app is designed to help patients better understand the content of genetic counselling and make informed, independent decisions. The researchers now intend to scientifically demonstrate the app’s effectiveness. German Cancer Aid is supporting the project with around 290,000 euros. The two-year study is set to begin in September 2026.
Overwhelming amounts of information and anxiety take their toll
A predisposition to cancer increases the risk of developing cancer over the course of one’s life and can be passed on to one’s own children. In Germany, therefore, anyone who suspects they have a family history of cancer or a predisposition to it is entitled to genetic counselling. “In our outpatient clinic, we advise women on hereditary breast and ovarian cancer,” says Dr Vajen. However, following the consultation – and particularly after being told of a positive test result – many women feel overwhelmed by the flood of information, whilst further questions arise in the aftermath. “Most women then go home and search online, which rarely leads to helpful answers and only serves to heighten their fears.”
Improving health literacy
The GenE³ app, developed at the MHH, is designed to bridge this gap. It offers personalised, scientifically verified information in plain language via a chatbot. “Our app has already been rated very highly by patients in an initial study,” notes Dr Vajen. “In the current study, we now want to investigate, with 240 patients, whether using the app actually improves patients’ health literacy without, at the same time, causing additional psychosocial stress.” In addition, in collaboration with the Department of Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, levels of anxiety and depression, as well as emotional and mental strain, are being recorded.
Personalised support
The GenE³ app provides patients with information on topics that are particularly important to them in their current situation and are tailored to their individual needs. The app offers a knowledgeable digital counsellor who understands their situation, responds to it and can therefore provide women with personalised support. To enable this, users first enter information about themselves – such as their age, details about any children they have or their plans to have children, and their own diagnosis. “Questions and answers based on medical expertise are then selected from an AI server,” explains Dr Kupka. “This enables the app to draw conclusions both about the choice of topics and about other characteristics of the patients.” In addition, the researchers have developed an AI that organises the topics into a logical order according to their individual relevance to the patients.
Further applications possible
“Digital applications offer great potential for supporting patients even outside of the consultation, for example if further questions arise at home or if they simply wish to read through the information again at their leisure,” says Dr Vajen. “However, GenE³ is purely an informative companion app that does not make any decisions and does not replace medical advice or treatment,” emphasises the researcher. If the researchers can demonstrate its effectiveness, further applications will become possible. “The app is scalable, meaning it can be flexibly adapted to changing requirements and used for other conditions in the future,” notes medical informatician Dr Wolff. Given the limited availability of genetic counselling in Germany, the GenE³ app demonstrates the potential of digital health applications to provide cancer patients with comprehensive, quality-assured information.
SERVICE:
Further information can be found here: https://www.mhh.de/en/human-genetics/research-teaching/research/gene3-app
Further information is available from Dr Beate Vajen, vajen.beate@mh-hannover.de.
The GenE³ app helps women with questions relating to hereditary breast and ovarian cancer.
Copyright: Karin Kaiser/MHH
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