Cancer information seeking and awareness of multi-cancer detection tests among U.S. adults: a cross-sectional study

Multi-cancer detection (MCD) tests represent a promising innovation in early cancer detection, yet public awareness of these technologies remains limited. Engagement with cancer-related information may play a key role in shaping awareness of emerging screening tools.

This study used data from the 2024 Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS 7) (n = 6,145) to examine the association between self-reported cancer information seeking (ever sought cancer information vs. never sought cancer information) and awareness of multi-cancer detection (MCD) tests (heard of MCD tests vs. not heard of MCD tests) among U.S. adults. Survey-weighted logistic regression models were estimated to assess this association, adjusting for age, sex, race/ethnicity, educational attainment, family history of cancer, and health insurance coverage. Average marginal effects (AMEs) and predicted probabilities were estimated to facilitate interpretation. Sensitivity analyses excluded respondents with a personal history of cancer.

Overall, 16.7% of respondents reported being aware of MCD tests, while 52.3% had sought cancer-related information. In unadjusted analyses, individuals who sought cancer information had 49% higher odds of MCD test awareness than those who did not (OR = 1.49, 95% CI: 1.16-1.91). After adjustment for sociodemographic characteristics, cancer information seeking remained significantly associated with greater awareness (OR = 1.44, 95% CI: 1.11-1.88). On average, cancer information seeking increased the predicted probability of MCD test awareness by approximately 5 percentage points (AME = 0.050, 95% CI: 0.015-0.084), corresponding to adjusted predicted probabilities of 14.1% among non-seekers and 19.0% among information seekers. No significant interaction by race/ethnicity was observed. Sensitivity analyses restricted to respondents without a personal history of cancer yielded substantively similar findings.

Cancer information seeking is independently associated with greater awareness of MCD tests among U.S. adults. Public health communication strategies that encourage engagement with cancer information may help improve population awareness of emerging cancer screening technologies as they become more widely available.