Public Interest and Behavior Change in the United States Regarding Colorectal Cancer Following the Death of Chadwick Boseman: Infodemiology Investigation of Internet Search Trends Nationally and in At-Risk Areas

Background Colorectal cancer (CRC) has the third highest cancer mortality rate in the United States. Enhanced screening has reduced mortality rates; however, certain populations remain at high risk, notably African Americans. Raising awareness among at-risk populations may lead to improved CRC outcomes. The influence of celebrity death and illness is an important driver of public awareness. As such, the death of actor Chadwick Boseman from CRC may have influenced CRC awareness. Objective We sought to assess the influence of Chadwick Boseman’s death on public interest in CRC in the United States, evidenced by internet searches, website traffic, and donations to prominent cancer organizations. Methods We used an auto-regressive integrated moving average model to forecast Google searching trends for the topic “Colorectal cancer” in the United States. We performed bivariate and multivariable regressions on state-wise CRC incidence rate and percent Black population. We obtained data from the American Cancer Society (ACS) and the Colon Cancer Foundation (CCF) for information regarding changes in website traffic and donations. Results The expected national relative search volume (RSV) for colorectal cancer was 2.71 (95% CI 1.76-3.66), reflecting a 3590% (95% CI 2632%-5582%) increase compared to the expected values. With multivariable regression, the statewise RSV increased for each percent Black population by 1.09 (SE 0.18, P<.001), with 42% of the variance explained (P<.001). The American Cancer Society reported a 58,000% increase in CRC-related website traffic the weekend following Chadwick Boseman’s death compared to the weekend before. The Colon Cancer Foundation reported a 331% increase in donations and a 144% increase in revenue in the month following Boseman’s death compared to the month prior. Conclusions Our results suggest that Chadwick Boseman’s death was associated with substantial increases in awareness of CRC. Increased awareness of CRC may support earlier detection and better prognoses.

Differential effects of the 2015 American Cancer Society guidelines on screening mammography exams based on socioeconomic status.

10539 Background: Guidelines for screening mammography have changed several times since initiation of regular screening mammography in the 1970’s. Most recently, in 2015, the American Cancer Society (ACS) revised their screening guidelines, recommending that a patient discuss screening mammography with her primary care doctor (PCP) between the ages of 40-44 and should begin yearly screening at age 45; after age 54, ACS recommended screening every other year. Prior to this, from 2003-2015, ACS had recommended screening mammography every year beginning at the age of 40. We hypothesized that these guidelines were adopted to varying degrees in different patient populations and may have disproportionately reduced screening mammography utilization in socioeconomically disadvantaged populations. Methods: Here, we analyzed monthly screening mammography rates over time in two large New York City hospitals, one in a socioeconomically advantaged area and the other in a socioeconomically disadvantaged area. Using our radiology records query system, we searched for monthly screening mammography numbers for women by decade from 2012 to 2018. We performed statistical analysis to evaluate changes in number of exams over time. Student’s t-tests were used to evaluate for significant differences. Results: In both groups of 40-49 year old patients, monthly mammograms increased from 2012-2016. In the socioeconomically advantaged group, this increase continued until 2018 resulting in an overall 400% increase in screening mammograms over time. The change in ACS screening guidelines had no effect on the rate of screening mammography in this group. Conversely, after the revision of the ACS guidelines in 2015, there was a marked decline in screening mammography in the 40-49 year old group in the socioeconomically disadvantaged population. By 2018, there was a statistically significant difference in women screened in all age groups (40-49, p<.0001; 50-59, p<.0001; 60-69, p<.01; 70-79, p<.0001; 80+, p<.0001) between these two patient populations. Conclusions: These data suggest that implementation of the 2015 ACS screening guidelines had a disproportionate effect on patients from socioeconomically disadvantaged areas and that these effects have led to significant disparities in screening mammography trends over time. We postulate that lower levels of health literacy may have contributed to misunderstanding of the screening guidelines. More research is needed to elucidate the underlying etiology of these disparities and ensure that women from all socioeconomic backgrounds receive appropriate screening mammography. Over time, this may result in disproportionate breast cancer morbidity and mortality in populations not receiving appropriate screening.

Public Interest and Behavior Change in the United States Regarding Colorectal Cancer Following the Death of Chadwick Boseman: Infodemiology Investigation of Internet Search Trends Nationally and in At-Risk Areas (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Colorectal cancer (CRC) has the third highest cancer mortality rate in the United States. Enhanced screening has reduced mortality rates; however, certain populations remain at high risk, notably African Americans. Raising awareness among at-risk populations may lead to improved CRC outcomes. The influence of celebrity death and illness is an important driver of public awareness. As such, the death of actor Chadwick Boseman from CRC may have influenced CRC awareness. OBJECTIVE We sought to assess the influence of Chadwick Boseman’s death on public interest in CRC in the United States, evidenced by internet searches, website traffic, and donations to prominent cancer organizations. METHODS We used an auto-regressive integrated moving average model to forecast Google searching trends for the topic “Colorectal cancer” in the United States. We performed bivariate and multivariable regressions on state-wise CRC incidence rate and percent Black population. We obtained data from the American Cancer Society (ACS) and the Colon Cancer Foundation (CCF) for information regarding changes in website traffic and donations. RESULTS The expected national relative search volume (RSV) for colorectal cancer was 2.71 (95% CI 1.76-3.66), reflecting a 3590% (95% CI 2632%-5582%) increase compared to the expected values. With multivariable regression, the statewise RSV increased for each percent Black population by 1.09 (SE 0.18, <i>P</i>&lt;.001), with 42% of the variance explained (<i>P</i>&lt;.001). The American Cancer Society reported a 58,000% increase in CRC-related website traffic the weekend following Chadwick Boseman’s death compared to the weekend before. The Colon Cancer Foundation reported a 331% increase in donations and a 144% increase in revenue in the month following Boseman’s death compared to the month prior. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that Chadwick Boseman’s death was associated with substantial increases in awareness of CRC. Increased awareness of CRC may support earlier detection and better prognoses.