# The Gail Model and Its Use in Preventive Screening: A Comparison of the Corbelli Study

## TL;DR

This study found that only 38% of primary care physicians in Texas use the Gail model to assess breast cancer risk during physical exams.

## Contribution

The study provides new insights into the adoption of the Gail model for breast cancer screening among primary care physicians in specific Texas regions.

## Key findings

- Only 38% of surveyed physicians reported using the Gail model in their practice.
- Internal medicine physicians had the highest usage rate (46%) compared to family medicine (23%) and gynecology (31%).
- All physicians using the Gail model were open to using chemoprevention.

## Abstract

Background

This study aims to determine the usage of the Gail model in screening for breast cancer during physical examinations of women by sampling primary care physicians in two regions of Texas - Hidalgo County and Johnson County. A Gail score of 1.66% or higher indicates increased breast cancer risk. Three specialties are surveyed: internal medicine (IM), family medicine (FM), and gynecology (GYN). The null hypothesis for this study is that primary care physicians do not use the Gail model in screening for breast cancer during physical examinations of women.

Methods

A survey was distributed to 100 physicians with specialties in IM, FM, and GYN from May 2022 to July 2022. The survey assessed the physician’s frequency of use of the Gail model and chemoprevention. Data were collected by distributing survey questionnaires to physicians in person. Descriptive statistics were used for response distributions. Fisher's exact probability test was used for comparisons across specialties.

Results

The response rate was 34% (34/100). Thirty-eight percent of the physicians surveyed reported using the Gail model in their practice (IM 46%, FM 23%, and GYN 31%). All 13 of the physicians using the Gail model were open to using chemoprevention.

Conclusions

Only 38% of the physicians surveyed responded that they use the Gail model in their practice. The study concluded that a minority of primary care physicians used the Gail model to decrease breast cancer risk. Further research would help to define better the Gail model and its use in preventing breast cancer in women. The Gail model appears to be beneficial to breast cancer risk reduction; however, risk reduction medication side effects need to be minimized.