Campaign to Increase Awareness of Oral Cancer Risk Factors Among Preadolescents
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Campaign to Increase Awareness of Oral Cancer Risk Factors Among Preadolescents Katia Rupel 1 & Giulia Ottaviani 1 & Margherita Gobbo 1 & Augusto Poropat 1 & Valentina Zoi 1 & Serena Zacchigna 1,2 & Roberto Di Lenarda 1 & Matteo Biasotto 1
# American Association for Cancer Education 2019
Abstract Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) represents one of the most common but scarcely known malignancies worldwide. The etiology of OSCC is strongly related to lifestyle habits and behavior, especially tobacco smoking and alcohol abuse. The mean age of individuals who start smoking and drinking alcohol is decreasing; thus, the aim of our campaign was to test the awareness and increase knowledge of oral cancer and its risk factors among young preadolescents. Six schools with 460 students aged 12– 14 years were included in the campaign. A lecture about carcinogenesis and oral cancer was provided. Anonymous questionnaires were submitted to the students before and after the lecture, to test their knowledge, awareness, and understanding. Before the lecture, the students showed very little awareness of oral cancer (26.8%), although almost all of them identified tobacco smoking as a risk factor (92.2%). After the lecture, the students showed a significant understanding of the provided information, thus increasing their awareness. On scales of 1–10, the students rated the appropriateness of the campaign at 8.9 and their overall appreciation at 8.7. Social campaigns, especially among young students, seem to be appreciated and may represent a powerful strategy for increasing knowledge about cancer risk factors, especially when they are highly related to lifestyle habits and behavior. Keywords Cancer prevention . Awareness campaigns . Smoking . Oral cancer . Alcohol abuse
Introduction Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) represents one of the most common, yet scarcely known malignancies worldwide, affecting more than 300,000 individuals per year and causing 145,400 deaths annually [1], with 9300 cases reported in Italy in 2016 [2]. While OSCC most commonly affects men over the fifth decade, recent epidemiological data report an increasing occurrence in patients younger than 45 years and in women [3]. Despite a general decrease in the mortality rate for the majority of cancer types, oral cancer’s survival rate has remained stable over time (less than 50%), essentially
* Katia Rupel [email protected] 1
Division of Oral Medicine, Department of Medical, Surgical and Health Sciences, University of Trieste, Piazza Ospitale 1, Trieste, Italy
2
International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), 34149 Trieste, Italy
d ep en di n g o n di s ea s e s t a ge at di ag no s i s [4, 5 ]. Unfortunately, both patients and clinicians are often unaware of the pathology and do not pay appropriate attention to early signs. This results in an important delay in diagnosis and consequent negative impact on patient survival. The etiology of oral cancer is strongly related to lifestyle habits and behavior, including tobacco smo
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