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Personalized Cancer Medicine in the Media: Sensationalism or Realistic Reporting?

Background: Given that media coverage can shape healthcare expectations, it is essential that we understand how the media frames “personalized medicine” (PM) in oncology, and whether information about unproven technologies is widely disseminated. Methods: We conducted a content analysis of 396 news...

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Autores principales: Hicks-Courant, Katherine, Shen, Jenny, Stroupe, Angela, Cronin, Angel, Bair, Elizabeth F., Wing, Sam E., Sosa, Ernesto, Nagler, Rebekah H., Gray, Stacy W.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8399271/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34442385
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/jpm11080741
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author Hicks-Courant, Katherine
Shen, Jenny
Stroupe, Angela
Cronin, Angel
Bair, Elizabeth F.
Wing, Sam E.
Sosa, Ernesto
Nagler, Rebekah H.
Gray, Stacy W.
author_facet Hicks-Courant, Katherine
Shen, Jenny
Stroupe, Angela
Cronin, Angel
Bair, Elizabeth F.
Wing, Sam E.
Sosa, Ernesto
Nagler, Rebekah H.
Gray, Stacy W.
author_sort Hicks-Courant, Katherine
collection PubMed
description Background: Given that media coverage can shape healthcare expectations, it is essential that we understand how the media frames “personalized medicine” (PM) in oncology, and whether information about unproven technologies is widely disseminated. Methods: We conducted a content analysis of 396 news reports related to cancer and PM published between 1 January 1998 and 31 December 2011. Two coders independently coded all the reports using a pre-defined framework. Determination of coverage of “standard” and “non-standard” therapies and tests was made by comparing the media print/broadcast date to the date of Federal Drug Administration approval or incorporation into clinical guidelines. Results: Although the term “personalized medicine” appeared in all reports, it was clearly defined only 27% of the time. Stories more frequently reported PM benefits than challenges (96% vs. 48%, p < 0.001). Commonly reported benefits included improved treatment (89%), prediction of side effects (30%), disease risk prediction (33%), and lower cost (19%). Commonly reported challenges included high cost (28%), potential for discrimination (29%), and concerns over privacy and regulation (21%). Coverage of inherited DNA testing was more common than coverage of tumor testing (79% vs. 25%, p < 0.001). Media reports of standard tests and treatments were common; however, 8% included information about non-standard technologies, such as experimental medications and gene therapy. Conclusion: Confusion about personalized cancer medicine may be exacerbated by media reports that fail to clearly define the term. While most media stories reported on standard tests and treatments, an emphasis on the benefits of PM may lead to unrealistic expectations for cancer genomic care.
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spelling pubmed-83992712021-08-29 Personalized Cancer Medicine in the Media: Sensationalism or Realistic Reporting? Hicks-Courant, Katherine Shen, Jenny Stroupe, Angela Cronin, Angel Bair, Elizabeth F. Wing, Sam E. Sosa, Ernesto Nagler, Rebekah H. Gray, Stacy W. J Pers Med Article Background: Given that media coverage can shape healthcare expectations, it is essential that we understand how the media frames “personalized medicine” (PM) in oncology, and whether information about unproven technologies is widely disseminated. Methods: We conducted a content analysis of 396 news reports related to cancer and PM published between 1 January 1998 and 31 December 2011. Two coders independently coded all the reports using a pre-defined framework. Determination of coverage of “standard” and “non-standard” therapies and tests was made by comparing the media print/broadcast date to the date of Federal Drug Administration approval or incorporation into clinical guidelines. Results: Although the term “personalized medicine” appeared in all reports, it was clearly defined only 27% of the time. Stories more frequently reported PM benefits than challenges (96% vs. 48%, p < 0.001). Commonly reported benefits included improved treatment (89%), prediction of side effects (30%), disease risk prediction (33%), and lower cost (19%). Commonly reported challenges included high cost (28%), potential for discrimination (29%), and concerns over privacy and regulation (21%). Coverage of inherited DNA testing was more common than coverage of tumor testing (79% vs. 25%, p < 0.001). Media reports of standard tests and treatments were common; however, 8% included information about non-standard technologies, such as experimental medications and gene therapy. Conclusion: Confusion about personalized cancer medicine may be exacerbated by media reports that fail to clearly define the term. While most media stories reported on standard tests and treatments, an emphasis on the benefits of PM may lead to unrealistic expectations for cancer genomic care. MDPI 2021-07-28 /pmc/articles/PMC8399271/ /pubmed/34442385 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/jpm11080741 Text en © 2021 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Hicks-Courant, Katherine
Shen, Jenny
Stroupe, Angela
Cronin, Angel
Bair, Elizabeth F.
Wing, Sam E.
Sosa, Ernesto
Nagler, Rebekah H.
Gray, Stacy W.
Personalized Cancer Medicine in the Media: Sensationalism or Realistic Reporting?
title Personalized Cancer Medicine in the Media: Sensationalism or Realistic Reporting?
title_full Personalized Cancer Medicine in the Media: Sensationalism or Realistic Reporting?
title_fullStr Personalized Cancer Medicine in the Media: Sensationalism or Realistic Reporting?
title_full_unstemmed Personalized Cancer Medicine in the Media: Sensationalism or Realistic Reporting?
title_short Personalized Cancer Medicine in the Media: Sensationalism or Realistic Reporting?
title_sort personalized cancer medicine in the media: sensationalism or realistic reporting?
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8399271/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34442385
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/jpm11080741
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