Awareness of testicular cancer and testicular self-examination in young adults, and the efficacy of education-based media.

Authors

null

Aaron M. Walt

Mount Sinai Department of Urology, New York, NY

Aaron M. Walt , Micah Levy , Chih Peng Chin , Bobby Chi-Hung Liaw , Michael Palese

Organizations

Mount Sinai Department of Urology, New York, NY, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY, Tisch Cancer Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY

Research Funding

No funding received
None.

Background: The prevalence of testicular cancer in adolescents and young adults creates a unique opportunity for education through social media. We investigated this populations’ baseline knowledge of testicular cancer (TC) and testicular self-examination (TSE) and identified the efficacy of various forms of media in educating young individuals. Methods: A survey was designed to assess participants’ baseline knowledge of TC and TSE. Participants were randomly shown one of three forms of educational media created by the Testicular Cancer Society and the National Cancer Institute. These were an infographic, a short (60 second) and a long (6 minute) video. Participants were then asked to correctly identify facts regarding TC and TSE. Baseline knowledge was analyzed by age (< 24 vs. > 25), and post-media knowledge was analyzed to determine the efficacy of each media form. Results: Responses from 328 participants were analyzed, with a mean age of 24.3 years, 40.9% male, 72.0% white, and 70.7% graduated college or a graduate program. Only 30.7% of participants reported being educated about TC, 25.9% correctly identified the 15-35 age group as having the highest prevalence of TC, and 26.3% correctly identified the TC survival rate as being 75-100%. The > 25-year-old group were significantly more likely to have heard of TSE (p < 0.001), performed a TSE if male (p = 0.043), encouraged males to perform TSE if female (p < 0.001) and correctly identify TC survival rate (p = 0.006) and treatability (p = 0.007). Long video viewers were significantly less likely to watch it in its entirety compared to infographic and short video viewers, and they were less likely to report an understanding of TSE compared to infographic viewers. Short video viewers were less likely to have properly identified the TC survival rate compared to both infographic (P < 0.001) and long video viewers (p = 0.001). Conclusions: Overall there is poor awareness and education regarding TC and TSE, with adolescents performing significantly worse than young adults. The infographic performed the best overall in completion and education about TC and TSE, with the short video performing similarly well, and the long video performing the worst. This suggests that easily dispersed and viewable forms of media may be the most effective tool for educating young people.

Total≤24 Years Old≥25 Years OldP-Value
Heard of TSE29.4%20.8%38.2%< 0.001
Performed TSE31.3%22.6%38.9%0.043
Identified Survival Rate26.3%19.5%33.1%0.006
Identified Treatability53.5%45.9%61.1%0.007
InfographicShort VideoLong VideoP-Value
Completed Media Entirely81.4%83.7%58.1%0.003
Understand TSE After Media90.0%88.9%65.2%0.014
Identified Survival Rate65.2%37.2%72.1%0.001

P-values derived from Chi Squared Test and ANOVA with Tukey Post-Hoc with a significance of p < 0.05.

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Abstract Details

Meeting

2023 ASCO Annual Meeting

Session Type

Publication Only

Session Title

Publication Only: Genitourinary Cancer—Prostate, Testicular, and Penile

Track

Genitourinary Cancer—Prostate, Testicular, and Penile

Sub Track

Germ Cell/Testicular Cancer

Citation

J Clin Oncol 41, 2023 (suppl 16; abstr e17022)

DOI

10.1200/JCO.2023.41.16_suppl.e17022

Abstract #

e17022

Abstract Disclosures

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