Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33683506›Full record

ArticleCancer causes & control : CCC2021

Decreased public pursuit of cancer-related information during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.

Siegfried Adelhoefer, Philipp Berning, Stephen B Solomon, Majid Maybody, Seamus P Whelton, Michael J Blaha, Omar Dzaye

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Cancer causes & control : CCC, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
10citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
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  5. Review
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Siegfried AdelhoeferJohns Hopkins Ciccarone Center for Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Blalock 524D1, 600 N Wolfe St, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA.
Philipp BerningDepartment of Hematology and Oncology, University Hospital Muenster, Muenster, Germany.
Stephen B SolomonDepartment of Radiology, Interventional Radiology Service, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA.
Majid MaybodyDepartment of Radiology, Interventional Radiology Service, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA.
Seamus P WheltonJohns Hopkins Ciccarone Center for Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Blalock 524D1, 600 N Wolfe St, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA.
Michael J BlahaJohns Hopkins Ciccarone Center for Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Blalock 524D1, 600 N Wolfe St, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA.
Omar DzayeJohns Hopkins Ciccarone Center for Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Blalock 524D1, 600 N Wolfe St, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA. odzaye@jhmi.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9483-3510

Funding

X-RAY CRYSTALLOGRAPHYP30CA008748 · NCI · SLOAN-KETTERING INSTITUTE FOR CANCER RES · PI Nicholas D Socci · 1985 to 2026
$347.4M
NCI NIH HHS P30 CA008748
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundIn response to the prioritization of healthcare resources towards the COVID-19 pandemic, routine cancer screening and diagnostic have been disrupted, potentially explaining the apparent COVID-era decline in cancer cases and mortality. In this study, we identified temporal trends in public interest in cancer-related health information using the nowcasting tool Google Trends.

methodsWe used Google Trends to query search terms related to cancer types for short-term (September 2019-September 2020) and long-term (September 2016-September 2020) trends in the US. We compared average relative search volumes (RSV) for specified time ranges to detect recent and seasonal variation.

resultsGeneral search interest declined for all cancer types beginning in March 2020, with changes in search interest for "Breast cancer," "Colorectal cancer," and "Melanoma" of - 30.6%, - 28.2%, and - 26.7%, respectively, and compared with the mean RSV of the two previous months. In the same time range, search interest for "Telemedicine" has increased by + 907.1% and has reached a 4-year peak with a sustained increased level of search interest. Absolute cancer mortality has declined and is presently at a 4-year low; however, search interest in cancer has been recuperating since July 2020.

conclusionWe observed a marked decline in searches for cancer-related health information that mirrors the reduction in new cancer diagnoses and cancer mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic. Health professions need to be prepared for the coming demand for cancer-related healthcare, foreshadowed by recovering interest in cancer-related information on Google Trends.

Indexed as

COVID-19NeoplasmsHumansSearch EngineUnited StatesCancer awarenessGoogle trendsHealth promotionInfodemiologyPatient education

Identifiers

PMID33683506
PMCPMC7938033

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.