Smoking is associated with pessimistic and avoidant beliefs about cancer: results from the International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership
Menée au Royaume-Uni par enquête auprès de 6 965 participants âgés de plus de 50 ans, cette étude met en évidence une association entre le tabagisme et des comportements d'évitement par rapport aux tests de diagnostic précoce d'un cancer
Background: Smoking cessation is the key cancer prevention behaviour for smokers; nonetheless, smokers can still benefit from earlier diagnosis of cancer. However, fewer smokers participate in screening despite their increased risk, which may reflect different beliefs about cancer. Methods: A UK population-representative sample of greater than or equal to 50 year-olds (n=6 965) was surveyed using the Awareness and Beliefs about Cancer measure. These analyses examine six items on cancer beliefs (e.g., ‘cancer can often be cured’), and four on help-seeking barriers (e.g., ‘I would be too embarrassed’). Results: Smokers were more likely to hold pessimistic cancer beliefs than never-smokers or former-smokers on four of six items. For example, 34% agreed ‘a cancer diagnosis is a death sentence’, compared with 24% of non/former-smokers (P<0.001). More smokers (18%) than non/former-smokers (11%) would not want to know if they had cancer (P<0.01). The only barrier to symptomatic help-seeking differing by smoking status was ‘worry about what the doctor might find’ (36% vs 28%, P<0.01). Associations were independent of demographics, self-rated health and cancer experience. Conclusions: Smokers held more pessimistic and avoidant beliefs about cancer, which could deter early-detection behaviour. A better understanding of these beliefs is needed to increase engagement in early diagnosis by this high-risk group.