MP44-05 SUCCESS OF MEN'S CANCER AWARENESS CAMPAIGNS ACCORDING TO INTERNET SEARCH VOLUME: A GOOGLE TRENDS ANALYSIS

Background: Breast Cancer (BC) is common, with 1 in 8 U.S. women (12.4%) developing invasive breast cancer in their lifetime. BC is associated with the most awareness campaigns with pink ribbon as its symbol. October was earmarked as the breast cancer awareness month (CAM) in 1985. Cervical (CC) and ovarian cancers (OC) are associated with a high mortality as well and have awareness months dedicated to them. The aim of these awareness drives is to change public attitude and help in early detection and ultimately prevention of various cancers. Internet search activity can be used as a method to gauge interest and awareness in the masses. We aimed to assess the popularity of BC compared to other gynecological cancers, including OC and CC. Methods: We compared the relative frequency of search terms “Breast Cancer,” “Ovarian Cancer,” and “Cervical Cancer” between January 1, 2004 and December 31, 2017 (n=168 months) using Google Trends, a public web facility of Google Inc. The software designates a reference value of 100 for the point of highest popularity and it provides relative monthly popularity scores for all the terms, which we termed as comparative interest scores (CIS). Within each cancer, average CIS was then compared for their respective awareness months (n=14 months; October for BC, September for OC, and January for CC) to the remaining months (n=154 months). Results: The mean CIS for BC was significantly higher during its CAM, 70.5 as compared to other months 35.9; p<0.001. However, for CC mean CIS during January (7.4) was not different compared to the other months (7.4); P=1.00. And for OC, CIS was significantly higher during its CAM (9.2) compared to other months (7.7); P=.0002. The peak of highest popularity for breast cancer was observed during October 2004 and all peaks corresponded to the CAM; other smaller peaks were seen during significant news events associated with BC, all of which surpassed OC and CC in those months. Overall BC CIS were significantly higher compared to CC (P<.001) and OC (P<.001). Conclusions: We conclude that BC awareness campaigns have succeeded in increasing internet search activity during its CAM but ovarian and cervical cancer campaigns especially when compared to breast cancer have not been as successful. There is still a need to increase awareness among masses. Google trends data also tells us which states in US have more internet search activity compared to others which can be used to target the relatively unaware public.

Download Full-text

Effectiveness of colon cancer awareness month compared to pancreatic cancer awareness month at increasing internet search activity.

Journal of Clinical Oncology ◽

10.1200/jco.2018.36.4_suppl.240 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 36 (4_suppl) ◽

pp. 240-240

Author(s):

Sajan Jiv Singh Nagpal ◽

Dhruvika Mukhija ◽

Ayush Sharma ◽

Sahil Khanna

Keyword(s):

Pancreatic Cancer ◽

Colon Cancer ◽

Internet Search ◽

Search Activity ◽

Cancer Awareness ◽

Screening Guidelines ◽

Awareness Campaigns ◽

Search Volume ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Google Search

240 Background: Colorectal and Pancreatic cancers have high mortality with about 50,000 patients dying from each annually. Cancer awareness months (CAMs) have been earmarked by cancer societies to change public attitudes towards prevention, screening and treatment of various cancers. Awareness campaigns lead by these societies have benefited significantly from readily available Internet access and growing social media. Internet search activity has been used as a surrogate tool to gauge public interest and awareness. We aimed to assess if cancer awareness months impact internet search activity for these cancers. Methods: Using Google Trends, a public web facility of Google Inc. based on Google Search, we compared the relative frequency of search of terms ‘Colon Cancer’ and ‘Pancreatic Cancer’ between 1st January 2004 and 31st December 2016 (n=156 months). The program assigns a reference value of 100 for the point of maximum popularity from among the search terms, and provides relative monthly scores for all terms, which we termed relative interest scores (RIS). Within each cancer, the median RIS was then compared for their respective awareness months (n=13; March for CRC and November for PC) to the to the remaining months (n=143). Results: The median (IQR) RIS for CRC was significantly higher for CRC during its CAM:54 (51-63) as compared to other months:47 (44-50); p=0.0001. However, there was no significant difference in the median RIS for PC during its CAM: 33 (27.5-35.5) as compared to other months: 31 (27-33); p=0.43. The point of maximum popularity during the study period (i.e. RIS 100), and other peaks in search volume for PC corresponded to significant news events associated with PC, and PC search volumes surpassed CRC in those months. Conclusions: Ongoing campaigns for CRC awareness appear to be effective in increasing internet search activity during its respective CAM. While differences could be due to established CRC screening guidelines, other reasons behind the success of CRC awareness campaigns should be adopted by PC as awareness campaigns for the two cancers are otherwise similar.

Download Full-text

Evaluating the impact of cancer awareness months in Mexico using internet search engine analytics.

Journal of Clinical Oncology ◽

10.1200/jco.2019.37.15_suppl.e18056 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 37 (15_suppl) ◽

pp. e18056-e18056

Author(s):

Jorge Humberto Hernandez-Felix ◽

Mónica Isabel Meneses Medina ◽

Edgar Omar Martos Armendariz ◽

Mauricio Rivera Aguilar ◽

Vanessa Rosas Camargo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Prostate Cancer ◽

Colorectal Cancer ◽

Media Analysis ◽

Cáncer De Mama ◽

Internet Search ◽

Cancer Awareness ◽

Awareness Campaigns ◽

Search Volume ◽

The Impact

e18056 Background: Cancer awareness months (CAM) are a health promotion tool that pursues to increase the public knowledge of a specific type of cancer. Awareness campaigns have benefited from the ease of access to the internet and social media. Analysis of internet search data has been used as an indirect tool to determine the information-seeking patterns of people and may reflect the impact of a campaign. We aim to determine national cancer awareness months’ impact on people’s internet search habits focusing on malignancies that have a specific awareness month in Mexico: breast, colorectal and prostate. Methods: We used Google Trends (GT) to obtain search volume indexes (SVIs), a term designed by GT scaled from 0 to 100 based on total searches during a specified period, of malignancies with an awareness month in Mexico from January 2008 to December 2018. Terms were consulted in Spanish: "cáncer de mama" (breast cancer), "cáncer de colon + cáncer colorrectal" (colon + colorectal cancer), "cáncer de próstata" (prostate cancer). We compared mean SVIs from each cancer awareness month to mean SVIs from the rest of the year using two-tailed two-independent sample T-tests. For prostate and colorectal, SVI’s were compared from the year its CAM was nationally instituted. Results: For breast cancer, mean SVI from October, its awareness month was 54.18 vs 12.09 for the rest of the year (p < 0.001). For colorectal cancer, mean SVI from its awareness month March, was 65.0 vs 55.5 for the rest of the year (p = 0.34). For prostate cancer, mean SVI from November, Mexican prostate awareness month, was 72.0 vs 35.52 for the rest of the year (p = 0.44). Conclusions: Google’s search volume for breast cancer was significantly higher in its awareness month compared to the rest of the year, which proves the impact of its CAM on modifying online activity. For more recently instituted CAMs on prostate and colorectal cancer, search volume didn’t change significantly between their CAM and the rest of the year. There are perhaps lessons to be learned from the breast cancer awareness month campaign which might usefully be adapted for the highest incident malignancies in Mexico.

Download Full-text

National infertility awareness week and internet search volume: a Google trends analysis

Fertility and Sterility ◽

10.1016/j.fertnstert.2019.07.1292 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 112 (3) ◽

pp. e422

Author(s):

Mehul S. Patel ◽

Joshua A. Halpern ◽

Anne L. Darves-Bornoz ◽

Mary Kate Keeter ◽

Nelson E. Bennett ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Google Trends ◽

Internet Search ◽

Search Volume ◽

Trends Analysis

Download Full-text

Increase in searches for erectile dysfunction during winter: seasonal variation evidence from Google Trends in the United States

International Journal of Impotence Research ◽

10.1038/s41443-020-00397-1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Belén Mora Garijo ◽

Jonathan E. Katz ◽

Aubrey Greer ◽

Mia Gonzalgo ◽

Alejandro García López ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Prostate Cancer ◽

United States ◽

Erectile Dysfunction ◽

Seasonal Variation ◽

Kidney Stones ◽

Seasonal Pattern ◽

The United States ◽

Google Trends ◽

Internet Search ◽

Search Volume

AbstractSeveral diseases associated with erectile dysfunction (ED), such as type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and coronary artery disease (CAD), are known to have seasonal variation, with increased incidence during winter months. However, no literature exists on whether this chronological-seasonal evolution is also present within ED symptomatology. We hypothesized ED would follow the seasonal pattern of its lifestyle-influenced comorbid conditions and exhibit increased incidence during winter months. In order to investigate the seasonal variation of ED in the United States between 2009 and 2019, Internet search query data were obtained using Google Trends. Normalized search volume was determined during the winter and summer seasons for ED, other diseases known to be significantly associated with ED (T2DM and CAD), kidney stones (positive control), and prostate cancer (negative control). There were significantly more internet search queries for ED during the winter than during the summer (p = 0.001). CAD and T2DM also had significantly increased search volume during winter months compared to summer months (p < 0.001 and p = 0.011, respectively). By contrast, searches for kidney stones were significantly increased in the summer than in the winter (p < 0.001). There was no significant seasonal variation in the relative search frequency for prostate cancer (p = 0.75). In conclusion, Google Trends internet search data across a ten-year period in the United States suggested a seasonal variation in ED, which implies an increase in ED during winter. This novel finding in ED epidemiology may help increase awareness of ED’s associated lifestyle risk factors, which may facilitate early medical evaluation and treatment for those at risk of both ED and cardiovascular disease.

Download Full-text

Seasonal variations and public search interests in Toxoplasma: a 16-year retrospective analysis of big data on Google Trends

Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene ◽

10.1093/trstmh/traa147 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Lei Liu ◽

Peng Wang ◽

Su-Qin Jiang ◽

Zi-Rong Zhong ◽

Ting-Zheng Zhan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

New Zealand ◽

Google Trends ◽

Seasonal Patterns ◽

Search Term ◽

Internet Search ◽

Search Volume ◽

The Usa ◽

Search Data ◽

Relative Search Volume ◽

The Uk

Abstract Background This study aims to understand whether there is a seasonal change in the internet search interest for Toxoplasma by using the data derived from Google Trends (GT). Methods The present study searched for the relative search volume (RSV) for the search term ‘Toxoplasma’ in GT within six major English-speaking countries (Australia, New Zealand [Southern Hemisphere] and Canada, Ireland, the UK and the USA [Northern Hemisphere] from 1 January 2004 to 31 December 2019, utilizing the category of ‘health’. Data regarding the RSV of Toxoplasma was obtained and further statistical analysis was performed in R software using the ‘season’ package. Results There were significantly seasonal patterns for the RSV of the search term ‘Toxoplasma’ in five countries (all p<0.05), except for the UK. A peak in December–March and a trough in July–September (Canada, Ireland, the UK and the USA) were observed, while a peak in June/August and a trough in December/February (Australia, New Zealand) were also found. Moreover, the presence of seasonal patterns regarding RSV for ‘Toxoplasma’ between the Southern and Northern Hemispheres was also found (both p<0.05), with a reversed meteorological month. Conclusions Overall, our study revealed the seasonal variation for Toxoplasma in using internet search data from GT, providing additional evidence on seasonal patterns in Toxoplasma.

Download Full-text

The relative effectiveness of cancer awareness months: A Google trends analysis of the United States from 2004 to 2017.

Journal of Clinical Oncology ◽

10.1200/jco.2018.36.15_suppl.e13544 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 36 (15_suppl) ◽

pp. e13544-e13544

Author(s):

Nyle Hamidi ◽

Adeel Khan

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Relative Effectiveness ◽

The United States ◽

Google Trends ◽

Cancer Awareness ◽

Trends Analysis

Download Full-text

Google trends to identify public’s Interest in bowel cancer, A Web Based Analysis.

Journal of Clinical Research and Reports ◽

10.31579/2690-1919/120 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 5 (4) ◽

pp. 01-04

Author(s):

T Manzoor

Keyword(s):

Bowel Cancer ◽

Google Trends ◽

Volume Index ◽

Search Term ◽

Health Campaigns ◽

Cancer Awareness ◽

Search Volume ◽

Search Data ◽

Public Health Campaigns ◽

Relative Search Volume

Aims: Bowel Cancer is one of the commonest cancers in UK. Google Trends were used to evaluate public’s search interest regarding bowel cancer. We hypothesize that the search data in Google Trends may be influenced by “Bowel cancer awareness month” campaign and that in future this might be a useful surrogate to monitor the effectiveness of public health campaigns. Methods: Google Trends were used to extract data presented as “Relative search volume index”(SVI) ranging between 0 to 100. “Bowel Cancer” was used as a search term to collect the relevant data for the last 5 years ( January 2015 to December 2019), All the peaks were assessed and their correlation with bowel cancer awareness month was noted. Results: We noticed an upward trend for the searched term during the months of April for most of the years where peak of search touched 90%. It corresponds with bowel cancer awareness month campaign. A downward trend was also noticed during the months of December during all years where it went down to 53%. This may represent avoidance of health related searches during the happy holiday period. Conclusion: Our study shows an encouraging association between bowel cancer awareness month campaign and public’s search interest. Results can be used in future to start effective awareness strategies and leverage future interventions.

Download Full-text

The effect of cancer awareness month campaigns on internet search volume and incidence of cancer diagnoses.

Journal of Clinical Oncology ◽

10.1200/jco.2013.31.15_suppl.e17512 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 31 (15_suppl) ◽

pp. e17512-e17512 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Wade T. Swenson ◽

John M. Lindblom ◽

John Reber

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Cervical Cancer ◽

Colon Cancer ◽

Public Awareness ◽

The United States ◽

Volume Index ◽

Internet Search ◽

Cancer Awareness ◽

Awareness Campaign ◽

Search Volume

e17512 Background: Cancer awareness month campaigns are a health promotion tool used to increase public awareness about a specific cancer, its prevention, and treatment. Cancer awareness month campaigns could be most impactful in promoting awareness of cancers for which established screening guidelines exist. Currently, the United States Preventive Task Force endorses screening the general population for colon, cervical and breast cancers. We aimed to assess the effectiveness of campaigns by identifying internet search volume and monthly cancer diagnoses. Methods: GoogleTrends was utilized to identify the relative monthly volume of search terms from 2004 to 2009 as a proxy for public awareness. Search trends for“breast cancer”, “colon cancer”, and “cervical cancer” were analyzed and an average monthly search volume index (SVI) was determined. Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Result (SEER) data was analyzed during the same time period. These data were compared using Pearson's correlation coefficient and the chi square test for seasonality. The monthly trends were compared to corresponding cancer awareness month campaigns (breast cancer-October, colon cancer-March, cervical cancer-January). Results: Internet search volume was highest for colon cancer and breast cancer in the respective cancer awareness campaign months. The frequencies of breast cancer and colon cancer diagnoseswere not significantly higher in the respective cancer awareness months. Cervical cancer search volume and cancer diagnoses did not correlate with awareness campaign months. Search volume and cancer diagnoses were not well correlated for breast cancer (r=0.089) or cervical cancer (r=0.228); however, they were significantly correlated for colon cancer (r=0.386; p-value=0.0008). Conclusions: Cancer awareness month campaigns appear to raise public awareness as estimated by internet search volume for breast cancer and colon cancer. Cervical cancer awareness month campaigns do not have the same effect. There is no significant correlation between cancer awareness campaign months and cancer diagnosis incidence for either breast cancer or cervical cancer, whereas there is a significant correlation for colon cancer.

Download Full-text