AICR Survey Uncovers Distorted Perceptions About What Causes Cancer

Main Category: Cancer / Oncology
Article Date: 04 Nov 2007 - 7:00 PDT

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The most recent biennial survey commissioned by the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) shows that Americans rate cancer their number one health concern, believe it to be impossible to prevent, and continue to blame the disease on factors they cannot control.

"These are three distressing, interconnected trends, and they help to explain something we at AICR have been sensing for years," said AICR Nutrition Advisor Karen Collins, MS, RD. "Popular frustration about cancer is on the rise. An 'everything causes cancer' mindset is taking hold, which causes Americans to throw up their hands and overlook the steps that can lower their risk."

According to the 2007 AICR Facts vs. Fears Survey, which asked respondents about both proven and unproven risk factors for cancer, most Americans remain unaware that they can lower their cancer risk by changing their diet, getting more physical activity and managing their weight.

Meanwhile, awareness of proven risk factors remains low: only 36 percent of adults in the United States realize that diets high in red meat increase cancer risk. This figure has remained steady since the first AICR survey in 2001.

This finding, like many revealed by the Facts vs. Fears Survey, contrasts sharply with the latest scientific consensus. According to a just-released AICR report, the evidence linking red meat to colorectal cancer is convincing.

AICR's Second Expert Report, Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity, and the Prevention of Cancer: a Global Perspective, is the most comprehensive scientific analysis of cancer prevention and causation ever undertaken. This landmark document, authored by an international expert panel, reviewed 7,000 research studies and classified the accumulated evidence for specific diet-cancer links. The report is online at http://www.dietandcancerreport.org.

Survey Reveals Low Awareness of Real Risks

According to the AICR Expert Report, alcohol is convincingly linked to colorectal cancer, breast cancer, esophageal cancer, and cancers of the mouth, larynx and pharynx. Yet only 37 percent of respondents in the AICR survey identified alcohol as a risk factor. Evidence linking excess body fat to cancer is one of the strongest findings to emerge from the new AICR Expert Report. The Expert Panel found convincing evidence that overweight and obesity increases risk for eight different cancers, including those of the colon, rectum and breast. And although the AICR surveys shows that popular awareness of this link increased dramatically between 2001 and 2003, it has since held steady, with less than half of Americans (46 percent) realizing that obesity increases cancer risk.

Some Good News Revealed in Survey

Awareness of two proven cancer risk factors - insufficient physical activity and cured or processed meat - remains low, but is trending up. Getting insufficient physical activity is convincingly linked to colon cancer in the new AICR Expert Report. Popular awareness of this link has jumped 8 percentage points, from just 35 percent in 2005 to 43 percent in 2007.

The link between colorectal cancer and cured or processed meat was also judged convincing by the AICR Expert Panel. It too experienced an eight-point jump in awareness between 2005 and 2007, but still only hovers at 38 percent.

Cancer Outpaces Heart Disease for Top Health Concern

Americans ranked cancer their number one health concern. This year, 39 percent of respondents rated cancer as their primary health concern, compared to 18 percent who said they were most concerned about heart disease.
Even though cancer takes priority as a health concern, 1 out of 2 Americans (49 percent) believe it to be impossible or highly unlikely to prevent. According to the AICR Expert Report, however, making healthy changes to diet, activity level and weight can and do lower risk significantly.

Where Research is Lacking, Fears Take Over

Research has clearly established links between cancer and several diet-related factors we can control. Yet in the public's mind, those factors aren't registering as strongly as factors that are beyond our individual control. Americans consistently cite pesticides (71 percent) food additives (58 percent) and hormones in beef (49 percent) as causes of cancer.

The AICR Expert Panel, however, found the small amount of available research linking these factors to human cancer to be below the minimum standard for consideration.

"We continue to see a sharp disconnect between public fears - represented by the Facts vs. Fears Survey -- and scientific fact - represented by the AICR Expert Report," said Collins. "That's why it's so important to increase awareness about the steps proven to lower cancer risk."

The Facts vs. Fears Survey Table contains year-by-year breakdowns of survey responses with each potential risk factor ranked by popularity. The scientific evidence for each potential link has been classified as "convincing," "probable," "suggestive" or "no link."
The 2007 AICR Facts vs. Fears Survey was conducted for AICR by International Communications Research, who phoned 1022 individuals aged 18 and over at random during the month of August. The full questionnaire and raw data are available from AICR.

The American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) is the cancer charity that fosters research on diet and cancer and educates the public about the results. It has contributed more than $82 million for innovative research conducted at universities, hospitals and research centers across the country. AICR also provides a wide range of educational programs to help millions of Americans learn to make dietary changes for lower cancer risk. Its award-winning New American Plate program is presented in brochures, seminars and on its website, http://www.aicr.org. AICR is a member of the World Cancer Research Fund International