The results of a recent study confirmed the effectiveness of an interactive computer program intended to educate women about breast cancer.

Michael Green, associate professor of humanities and medicine at the Penn State College of Medicine and developer of a new software called Breast Cancer Risk and Genetic Testing, said he wanted to design a program to help women learn about their genetic risk factor for getting breast cancer.

The program helps women make choices about whether to seek out a genetic counselor and genetic testing based on reliable information, "having them explore what's important to them," Green said.

Genetic testing raises complicated issues people need to know about, Green said. Breast Cancer Risk and Genetic Testing helps users decide whether they want to get tested, he said.

To evaluate the program's effectiveness, 211 volunteers with personal or family histories of breast cancer were divided into two groups. One group only saw a genetic counselor. The other group used the computer program before meeting with a counselor.

"I think it is a wonderful educational tool that at this point in time I don't think is being used to its fullest potential," said Maria Baker, a genetics counselor and medical geneticist at the Penn State Cancer Institute, who worked on the study.

According to the study, low-risk women who used the computer program improved their knowledge more so than those who only met with genetic counselors. Though both were effective, Green said he was somewhat surprised by this finding.

In the context of the study, low- and high-risk refer to a woman's likelihood of carrying the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation, he said. However, some people may be at low risk for carrying a mutation but still be at high risk for developing cancer, Green said.

BRCA1 and BRCA2 are the first and second genes discovered to be predisposed to breast cancer, Baker said.

"There is no question that certain kinds of family history [are] significant," said Margaret Spear, director of University Health Services.

Although it is important, it's dangerous to assume that knowing risk is enough to determine whether a person will get breast cancer, Spear said.

Family history of breast cancer, especially the onset of cancer before age 50, family history of ovarian cancer, incidents of related men who had breast cancer and an Ashkenazi Jewish background are factors to consider when evaluating the risk for carrying a genetic mutation, Baker said.