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Assessing Public Interest in Mammography, Computed Tomography Lung Cancer Screening, and Computed Tomography
Zachary D Zippi1, Isabel O Cortopassi2, Rolf A Grage2
1Florida International University College of Medicine, Miami, FL, United States.
JMIR Cancer
|March 11, 2025
Summary
Mammography (MG) receives 10x more searches than lung cancer screening (LCS) and 25x more than CT colonography (CTC). Public interest in LCS is growing, with common searches focusing on CT specifics and eligibility.
Area of Science:
- Medical imaging and screening technologies
- Public health and awareness strategies
- Internet search data analytics
Background:
- Mammography (MG), low-dose computed tomography (CT) for lung cancer screening (LCS), and CT colonography (CTC) are vital noninvasive imaging examinations for common cancer types.
- Internet search data offers insights into public interest, concerns, and questions regarding cancer screening techniques.
- Understanding public search trends can inform and optimize public awareness campaigns for cancer screening.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare historical Google search volumes for mammography (MG), lung cancer screening (LCS), and CT colonography (CTC).
- To identify and analyze the most common public search topics related to these cancer screening modalities.
Main Methods:
- Utilized Google Trends data to quantify relative search frequencies for MG, LCS, and CTC over two decades.
- Employed keywordtool.io to analyze related Google queries from May 2022 to April 2023.
- Two authors iteratively categorized queries with at least 10 monthly instances, resolving disagreements by consensus.
Main Results:
- Over 20 years, mammography (MG) search volume was 10-fold higher than lung cancer screening (LCS) and 25-fold higher than CT colonography (CTC).
- Lung cancer screening (LCS) search volumes show an upward trend since 2011, with common queries on CT specifics, general information, AI/deep learning, and eligibility.
- Top mammography (MG) searches concerned nearby screening locations and procedural discomfort; CT colonography (CTC) searches focused on CT specifics and procedural details.
Conclusions:
- Mammography (MG) has significantly higher public search interest than lung cancer screening (LCS) or CT colonography (CTC) over the past two decades.
- A notable upward trend in lung cancer screening (LCS) searches since 2011 indicates increasing public engagement.
- Analyzing public search data provides valuable intelligence for tailoring public awareness efforts for imaging-based cancer screening.
