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Kaleem T, Malouff TD, Stross WC, et al. Google Search Trends in Oncology and the Impact of Celebrity Cancer Awareness. Cureus. 2019;11(8):e5360doi: 10.7759/cureus.5360.
Kaleem, T., Malouff, T. D., Stross, W. C., Waddle, M. R., Miller, D. H., Seymour, A. L., Zaorsky, N. G., Miller, R. C., Trifiletti, D. M., & Vallow, L. (2019). Google Search Trends in Oncology and the Impact of Celebrity Cancer Awareness. Cureus, 11(8), e5360. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.5360
Kaleem, Tasneem, et al. "Google Search Trends in Oncology and the Impact of Celebrity Cancer Awareness." Cureus vol. 11,8 (2019): e5360. doi: https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.5360
Kaleem T, Malouff TD, Stross WC, Waddle MR, Miller DH, Seymour AL, Zaorsky NG, Miller RC, Trifiletti DM, Vallow L. Google Search Trends in Oncology and the Impact of Celebrity Cancer Awareness. Cureus. 2019 Aug 10;11(8):e5360. doi: 10.7759/cureus.5360. PMID: 31608195; PMCID: PMC6783227.
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Cureus. 2019 Aug 10;11(8):e5360. doi: 10.7759/cureus.5360.

Google Search Trends in Oncology and the Impact of Celebrity Cancer Awareness.

Cureus

Tasneem Kaleem, Timothy D Malouff, William C Stross, Mark R Waddle, Daniel H Miller, Audrey L Seymour, Nicholas G Zaorsky, Robert C Miller, Daniel M Trifiletti, Laura Vallow

Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiation Oncology, Mayo Clinic Florida, Jacksonville, USA.
  2. Department of Radiation Oncology, Gamma West Cancer Services, Idaho Falls, USA.
  3. Department of Public Affairs, Mayo Clinic Florida, Jacksonville, USA.
  4. Department of Radiation Oncology, Penn State University, Hershey, USA.
  5. Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Maryland, Baltimore, USA.

PMID: 31608195 PMCID: PMC6783227 DOI: 10.7759/cureus.5360

Abstract

Introduction There is widespread public interest when celebrities are diagnosed with cancer. We sought to assess how this interest impacts awareness of prevalent cancers. Methods We reviewed common cancer-related search terms using Google Trends (Google LLC, Mountain View, CA) between the years 2004 and 2017 and retrospectively correlated these findings with media or celebrity-related events. The Google Trends application was used to obtain the "search volume index" (SVI), defined as the number of searches for a specific term standardized to the total number of searches over that time period. Data were presented in a graphical format. Isolated peaks of greater than 25% from the baseline SVI were identified. Using the date of the peaks, a further search was performed to determine if any event in the media triggered the peak. Results "Lung Cancer," "Pancreas Cancer," "Endometrial Cancer," "Cervical Cancer," "Brain Cancer," and "Glioblastoma" each had the highest peak correspond with a celebrity-related event covered in the media. These search terms displayed several additional isolated peaks, the majority of which could all be correlated with a significant media event (%). The search term "Breast Cancer" consistently had a peaked interest during October (breast cancer awareness month). Breast cancer events relating to public figures had little to no relative impact on search volume during this period. None of the other cancer search terms displayed the same cyclical pattern during their respective awareness months. Colon, rectal, and prostate cancer demonstrated stable search volumes over time, without an isolated peak. Conclusion Internet search activity among English speakers of most general cancer terms exhibit peaks coinciding with events that occur to celebrity figures or advances in medicines that are substantially covered in the media. In all cases but "breast cancer," these events lend to higher search activity as compared to campaigns and awareness months. Our study suggests that media coverage of public figures with cancer may trigger substantial Internet interest in non-breast cancers, more so than traditional efforts to raise awareness.

Copyright © 2019, Kaleem et al.

Keywords: cancer; celebrity; google; search engine

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared financial relationships, which are detailed in the next section.

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