Sunday, January 23, 2011

Cancer News Articles May Contribute to Confusion About Cancer

New research from North Carolina State University shows that most online news stories about cancer contain language that likely contributes to public uncertainty about the disease -- a significant finding, given that at least one-third of Americans seek health information online.

"Previous studies show that more than 100 million Americans seek health information online, and that their findings affect their health decisions," says Dr. Kami Kosenko, an assistant professor of communication at NC State and co-author of a paper describing the study. "But, while people facing uncertainty about cancer issues are likely to seek out additional information, we've found that there are features of the information they're seeking that may actually exacerbate the uncertainty."

"We found that nearly two-thirds of cancer news articles contain at least some uncertain terms -- words or phrases that reflect probability or ambiguity rather than certainty," says Dr. Ryan Hurley, a senior lecturer of communication at NC State and lead author of the study. The researchers evaluated more than 800 news articles on cancer issues, ranging from prevention to diagnosis to treatment. The articles were found on Google News, Yahoo! News, CNN website and MSNBC website.

Specifically, the researchers found that uncertain terms were used most often in reference to cancer treatment. "If you are trying to find clarity about cancer treatment options, reading news articles online may actually confuse the issue further," Hurley says. For example, one news article said, "There is no evidence that adding chemotherapy right away helps, and it may even worsen patients' chances." Hurley explains that this sentence creates uncertainty for readers because it indicates a lack of information (no evidence) as well as ambiguity about treatment efficacy (may even worsen).

To measure the use of uncertain terms, the researchers developed a scheme that captures five specific "message features" that are theoretically related to uncertainty. These features are conflicting information, complex information, ambiguous information, having too much information and having too little information. The researchers assessed the cancer news articles to determine the extent to which each included one or more of the uncertainty message features.

"To this point, no one has developed a means of systematically identifying and quantifying uncertain terms," Hurley says. "We believe the scheme we've created could be applied to identify uncertain terms in any text, from news articles to advertisements."

The researchers plan to use the scheme in forthcoming research efforts, including the design of experiments that can help us understand how uncertainty in messages influences people and affects behavior.

The paper, "Uncertain Terms: Message Features of Online Cancer News," will be presented Nov. 15 at the National Communication Association Annual Convention in San Francisco, Calif. The paper was co-authored by the late Dr. Dale Brashers of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Source:
www.sciencedaily.com

Online Physician Education Program Outlines Treatment Strategies For Pancreatic Cancer

The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network announced a partnered effort to educate physicians about treatment strategies for pancreatic cancer. From a joint collaboration between ASCO University®, the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, and The ASCO Cancer Foundation®, the 2011 ASCO Tumor Board: Pancreatic Cancer highlights the current treatment strategies and novel therapeutics that exist for this disease, the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the United States.

Seventy five percent of patients with pancreatic cancer die within the first year of diagnosis and only six percent survive more than five years. As part of this ASCO University tumor board series on pancreatic cancer treatments, the program will focus on radiotherapy options and new chemotherapy regimens.

The tumor board pairs pancreatic cancer experts and technology through ASCO University, ASCO's online physician education forum, to create an open environment for oncology professionals to learn about treatment approaches for this disease. Doctors who log on to the 2011 ASCO Tumor Board: Pancreatic Cancer, will be able to walk through a patient case presented by leading experts in pancreatic cancer care who represent both ASCO and the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network and also contribute to the discussion. The case presentation and discussion is led by Eileen O'Reilly, MD, Medical Oncologist from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and Christopher Crane, MD, Radiation Oncologist from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. Both serve as members of the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network Medical Advisory Council.

"Pancreatic cancer remains a challenge and we need to work together as a physician community in order to improve outcomes for our patients," said Ronald Blum, MD, Chair of ASCO's Education Production Subcommittee. "This Tumor Board on ASCO University allows us to interact and learn about the newest technologies and therapies for treating our patients with pancreatic cancer."

"The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network is proud to participate in the continuing education of healthcare professionals who treat pancreatic cancer patients," stated Julie Fleshman, President and CEO of the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. "We are thrilled to collaborate with ASCO on this important project and expand our outreach efforts to oncologists and healthcare professionals to ensure the most cutting edge treatment is available."

The case presentation for Pancreatic Cancer Tumor Board will be available for one year, while the online discussion forum will be open through Feb 18th. Once closed, the key discussion points noted in the forum will be summarized and made available in the module containing the presentation. Physicians can log on to the 2011 ASCO Tumor Board: Pancreatic Cancer for free by visiting here.

Source:
American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO)
ASCO Cancer Foundation
Pancreatic Cancer Action Network