Cancer awareness in the general population varies with sex, age and media coverage: A population-based survey with focus on gynecologic cancers

Tina Fonnes; Ingrid O Telle; David Forsse; Runa Falck; Jone Trovik; Ingfrid S Haldorsen; Camilla Krakstad

doi:10.1016/j.ejogrb.2020.10.051

Cancer awareness in the general population varies with sex, age and media coverage: A population-based survey with focus on gynecologic cancers

Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol. 2021 Jan:256:25-31. doi: 10.1016/j.ejogrb.2020.10.051. Epub 2020 Nov 1.

Authors

Tina Fonnes¹, Ingrid O Telle², David Forsse¹, Runa Falck², Jone Trovik¹, Ingfrid S Haldorsen³, Camilla Krakstad⁴

Affiliations

¹ Centre for Cancer Biomarkers, Department of Clinical Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway.
² Department of Comparative Politics, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.
³ Mohn Medical Imaging and Visualization Centre (MMIV), Department of Radiology, Haukeland University Hospital, Jonas Liesvei 65, 5021, Bergen, Norway; Section for Radiology, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.
⁴ Centre for Cancer Biomarkers, Department of Clinical Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway. Electronic address: camilla.krakstad@med.uib.no.

PMID: 33161211
DOI: 10.1016/j.ejogrb.2020.10.051

Abstract

Objectives: There is a need for more knowledge about the public awareness and attitudes towards gynecologic cancers. We employed a research-purpose population-based citizen panel to assess how often people recall gynecologic cancers compared to other cancer types and to explore the relative importance of different information channels in relaying cancer information.

Study design: We conducted an online survey using the Norwegian Citizen Panel (n = 1441 respondents), exploring associations between demographic factors and frequency of mentioning specific cancer types. We also searched The Norwegian Media Archive to assess the media coverage of different cancer types. Factors affecting likelihood of mentioning different cancers were assessed by multivariate regression.

Results: Only 41 % of respondents listed one or more cancers in female genital organs. Of the gynecological cancers, cervical cancer was most frequently mentioned (28 %), followed by ovarian (12 %) and endometrial cancer (11 %). Female responders were more likely to mention cervical (OR 2.47, 95 % CI 2.16-2.78) and ovarian cancer (OR 2.09, 95 % CI 1.60-2.58) than male responders, but not endometrial cancer. Family and friends who have had cancer (50 %) and different types of media coverage (41 %) were reported as the most common sources of cancer information. The three most frequently mentioned cancer types in our survey were breast (77 %), hematologic (76 %) and lung cancer (75 %), which also were the cancer types having most media coverage.

Conclusions: Gynecological cancers are less frequently mentioned by Norwegian citizens when compared to several other cancer types such as breast-, hematologic- and lung cancer. Sex and age are important factors that affect awareness of cancer types. Media is likely to play an important role in what cancer types the public recalls.

Keywords: Cancer awareness; Cervical cancer; Endometrial cancer; Gynecologic cancer; Ovarian cancer; Population survey.

MeSH terms

Communication
Endometrial Neoplasms*
Female
Genital Neoplasms, Female* / epidemiology
Humans
Male
Ovarian Neoplasms*
Uterine Cervical Neoplasms*