Trends in Cancer-Center Spending on Advertising in the United States, 2005 to 2014

The expanding sources of media coverage of cancer may have a powerful impact on emotions, cancer knowledge, information seeking, and other health behaviors. We explored whether television advertisements were associated with cancer worry, perceived risk, and perceived ability to prevent cancer using cross-sectional data from the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) linked to television advertisement data from Kantar Media. We conducted hierarchical linear modeling assessing 2-level models for each of the 3 outcomes of interest. The most common content included advertisements for cancer clinics (54.4%), public service announcements about cancer (22.0%), and advertisements about cancer organizations (9.1%). Most variance in cancer perceptions was due to individual-level characteristics and not exposure to television advertisements, which aligns with previous literature suggesting a small, but significant, association of television exposure with health beliefs. Higher levels of exposures to cancer-specific television advertisements were associated with higher levels of risk perceptions. Additionally, older adults’ levels of perceived worry and risk were more likely to be associated with television exposure than younger adults. Given the substantial investments being made in cancer advertisements on television, the differences in exposure are important to consider in future efforts to understand predictors of beliefs about cancer and in the development of interventions designed to target risk-reducing behaviors.

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“…12 For example, in 2014 over US$174 million was spent on cancer clinic advertisements alone, a 3-fold increase since 2005. 13…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Associations Between Objective Television Exposure and Cancer Perceptions in a National Sample of Adults

et al. 2019

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“…Of these 20 centres, five were included in our study. The advertising practices of cancer centres have previously been brought into question, including appeals to the emotions of a vulnerable patient population, hope for survival, and improved outcomes without supporting factual information, while not mentioning costs or risks associated with treatment [11,13,[46][47][48]. Our study supports these findings, demonstrating PTC websites frequently offer PBT to non-guideline recommended cancer sites, contain language which evokes hope for better treatment outcomes, and infrequently support all claims made on their website.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Online advertising and marketing claims by providers of proton beam therapy: Are they guideline based?

Corkum

Liu

Palma

et al. 2019

JCO

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6599 Background: Proton beam therapy (PBT) is a radiotherapy platform that purports an improved therapeutic ratio by way of a rapid radiation dose fall-off. Despite this technology being hindered by significant capital and patient costs, the number of centres offering PBT is increasing exponentially. Consensus guidelines support PBT use in a limited number of disease sites or on clinical trials. As patients frequently obtain information about PBT from hospital or cancer centre websites, the purpose of this study was to evaluate direct to consumer advertising (DTCA) content and claims made by proton therapy centre (PTC) websites. Methods: English PTC websites worldwide were identified using the Particle Therapy Co-Operative Group website. Data abstraction of website content was performed independently by two investigators. Eight international guidelines were consulted to determine indications for PBT. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were used to identify website characteristics that were associated with a higher likelihood to make non-evidence-based claims of PBT such as improved disease control or cure. Results: From the 48 PTCs with 46 English websites, most (58%) did not provide any references for claims made regarding PBT. These included: improved disease control or cure (61%), fewer side effects (85%), or was the standard of care (13%). Prostate (87%), head and neck (87%) and pediatric (83%) cancers were the most frequently listed PBT-indicated disease sites, consistent with international guidelines. However, pancreatobiliary (52%), breast (50%) and esophageal (44%) cancers were frequently advertised despite not being endorsed in any consensus guidelines. On multivariate analysis, an increasing number of listed disease sites and claims of being a regional PTC leader were associated with indicating that PBT offers greater disease control or cure. The availability of PBT through a clinical trial was mentioned on 57% of websites. Conclusions: PTC websites often contain information and DTCA claims inconsistent with international consensus guidelines. As online marketing information may have significant influence on patient decision-making, alignment of such information with accepted guidelines and consensus opinion should be adopted by PBT providers.

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“…As cancer care is highly profitable [ 45 ], it should not be surprising that spending on advertising is increasing. In 2014, $173 million was spent on cancer centre advertising in the U.S., roughly triple the amount compared to 2005 [ 46 ]. Of the 1500 cancer centres in the U.S., 20 accounted for 86% of advertising spending, of which 9 were NCI-designated [ 46 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In 2014, $173 million was spent on cancer centre advertising in the U.S., roughly triple the amount compared to 2005 [ 46 ]. Of the 1500 cancer centres in the U.S., 20 accounted for 86% of advertising spending, of which 9 were NCI-designated [ 46 ]. Of these 20 centres, five were included in our study.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Of these 20 centres, five were included in our study. The advertising practices of cancer centres have previously been brought into question, including appeals to the emotions of a vulnerable patient population, hope for survival, and improved outcomes without supporting factual information, while not mentioning costs or risks associated with treatment [ 11 , 13 , 46 – 48 ]. Our study supports these findings, demonstrating PTC websites frequently offer PBT to non-guideline recommended cancer sites, contain language which evokes hope for better treatment outcomes, and infrequently support all claims made on their website.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Online advertising and marketing claims by providers of proton beam therapy: are they guideline-based?

et al. 2018

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Background: Cancer patients frequently search the Internet for treatment options, and hospital websites are seen as reliable sources of knowledge. Guidelines support the use of proton radiotherapy in specific disease sites or on clinical trials. This study aims to evaluate direct-to-consumer advertising content and claims made by proton therapy centre (PTC) websites worldwide. Methods: Operational PTC websites in English were identified through the Particle Therapy Co-Operative Group website. Data abstraction of website content was performed independently by two investigators. Eight international guidelines were consulted to determine guideline-based indications for proton radiotherapy. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were used to determine the characteristics of PTC websites that indicated proton radiotherapy offered greater disease control or cure rates. Results: Forty-eight PTCs with 46 English websites were identified. 60·9% of PTC websites claimed proton therapy provided improved disease control or cure. U.S. websites listed more indications than international websites (15·5 ± 5·4 vs. 10·4 ± 5·8, p = 0·004). The most common disease sites advertised were prostate (87·0%), head and neck (87·0%) and pediatrics (82·6%), all of which were indicated in least one international guideline. Several disease sites advertised were not present in any consensus guidelines, including pancreatobiliary (52·2%), breast (50·0%), and esophageal (43·5%) cancers. Multivariate analysis found increasing number of disease sites and claiming their centre was a local or regional leader in proton radiotherapy was associated with indicating proton radiotherapy offers greater disease control or cure. Conclusions: Information from PTC websites often differs from recommendations found in international consensus guidelines. As online marketing information may have significant influence on patient decisionmaking, alignment of such information with accepted guidelines and consensus opinion should be adopted by PTC providers.

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Trends in Cancer-Center Spending on Advertising in the United States, 2005 to 2014

Cited by 7 publications

References 5 publications

Associations Between Objective Television Exposure and Cancer Perceptions in a National Sample of Adults

Associations Between Objective Television Exposure and Cancer Perceptions in a National Sample of Adults

Online advertising and marketing claims by providers of proton beam therapy: Are they guideline based?

Online advertising and marketing claims by providers of proton beam therapy: are they guideline-based?

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