Impact of cancer awareness campaigns in Peru: a 5-year Google Trends analysis

Background

The aim of this research was to characterise the interest on the most frequent cancers in Peru through Google Trends, its geographic and temporal relationship with massive awareness campaigns.

Methods

A temporal trends analysis for the last 5 years was carried out, comparing the Relative Search Volume (RSV) with the dates of mass cancer awareness campaigns in Peru. Google Trends application was used to evaluate the interest in the topics: breast, prostate, cervical stomach and colorectal cancer between 1 January 2016 and 31 December 2020, expressed in RSV. The annual RSV for each neoplasm was compared, as well as its annual variation using the Kruskal-Wallis test. The correlation between the RSV and the estimated incidence for each province was measured using the Spearman test.

Results

The topics with the highest RSV were breast (median: 20, range: 6-100) and prostate cancer (median: 28, range: 9-48). The topic 'breast cancer' showed a cyclical punctual increase in October, its awareness month. Searches for cervical, stomach and colorectal cancer were smaller and did not show peaks of interest. It was observed that the RSV was variable when compared with previous years (p < 0.05 for all the evaluated topics). Geographically, different provincial configurations of interest were observed according to neoplasia. When correlating the RSV with the incidence by province, a non-significant positive correlation (p > 0.05) was found for breast, cervical and colorectal cancer.

Conclusions

This study suggests a positive temporal correlation between RSV and awareness cancer campaigns in Peru specially to breast cancer and, to a lesser extent, prostate cancer. Significant variations of interest were demonstrated for each neoplasm among the evaluated years. No significant correlation was found between the incidence rate and the average RSV among Peruvian provinces.

Using big data to gauge effectiveness of breast cancer awareness month

Breast Cancer Awareness Month (BCAM) has been used for decades to increase awareness and screening for breast cancer, but its geographic reach and effectiveness is difficult to judge. Using Internet Search Interest (ISI) could allow for better evaluation of BCAM effects. Using Google Trends, we evaluated the ISI for "breast cancer" and "mammogram" for each state and metropolitan area from 2006 to 2019. The ISI represents population level Google internet searches relative to the highest number of searches for the United States over a given period, with a max number of 100. The ISI for each term in October (BCAM) was compared against all other months during this period, across states and across major metropolitan regions. ISI was 2.34 times higher (95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 2.10-2.61, P < .001) in BCAM than the average for all other months combined. Geographically categorized data revealed that there were significant differences in the ISI for "breast cancer" and for "mammogram" among the 50 states, and among major metropolitan areas (P < .001for each). ISI suggests that BCAM is effective at increasing breast cancer related internet searches, with significant heterogeneity across states and metro areas. Google Trends is a publicly available free tool that can be used to assess penetrance of awareness campaigns in a time sensitive and location specific manner for future targeting of populations with low breast cancer awareness. Future research is needed to assess relationships between preventive outcomes and ISI scores.

Google Trends in Dermatology: Scoping Review of the Literature

BACKGROUND

Google Trends is a powerful online database and analytics tool of popular Google search queries over time and has the potential to inform medical practice and priorities.

OBJECTIVE

This review aimed to survey Google Trends literature in dermatology and elucidate its current roles and relationships with the field.

METHODS

A literature search was performed using PubMed to access and review relevant dermatology-related Google Trends studies published within the last 5 years.

RESULTS

Current research utilizing Google Trends data provides insight related to skin cancer, pruritus, cosmetic procedures, and COVID-19. We also found that dermatology is presently the highest-searched medical specialty-among 15 medical and surgical specialties as well as general practitioners. Google searches related to dermatology demonstrate a seasonal nature for various skin conditions and sun-related topics, depending on a region's inherent climate and hemi-sphere. In addition, celebrity social media and other viral posts have been found to potentiate Google searches about dermatology and drive public interest.

CONCLUSIONS

A limited number of relevant studies may have been omitted by the simplified search strategy of this study, as well as by restriction to English language articles and articles indexed in the PubMed database. This could be expanded upon in a secondary systematic review. Future re-search is warranted to better understand how Google Trends can be utilized to improve the quality of clinic visits, drive public health campaigns, and detect disease clusters in real time.

Research Interest and Public Interest in Melanoma: A Bibliometric and Google Trends Analysis

INTRODUCTION

Melanoma is a severe skin cancer that metastasizes quickly. Bibliometric analysis can quantify hotspots of research interest. Google Trends can provide information to address public concerns.

METHODS

The top 15 most frequently cited articles on melanoma each year from 2015 to 2019, according to annual citations, were retrieved from the Web of Science database. Original articles, reviews, and research letters were included in this research. For the Google Trends analysis, the topic "Melanoma" was selected as the keyword. Online search data from 2004 to 2019 were collected. Four countries (New Zealand, Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom) were selected for seasonal analysis. Annual trends in relative search volume and seasonal variation were analyzed, and the top related topics and rising related topics were also selected and analyzed.

RESULTS

The top 15 most frequently cited articles each year were all original articles that focused on immunotherapy (n=8), omics (n=5), and the microbiome (n=2). The average relative search volume remained relatively stable across the years. The seasonal variation analysis revealed that the peak appeared in summer, and the valley appeared in winter. The diseases associated with or manifestations of melanoma, treatment options, risk factors, diagnostic tools, and prognosis were the topics in which the public was most interested. Most of the topics revealed by bibliometric and Google Trends analyses were consistent, with the exception of issues related to the molecular biology of melanoma.

CONCLUSION

This study revealed the trends in research interest and public interest in melanoma, which may pave the way for further research.