title: Cancer chemoprevention: factors influencing attitudes towards chemopreventive agents in high-risk populations.
abstract: Information comparing attitudes towards taking cancer chemopreventive agents and assessing drug characteristics that would make chemopreventive agents more acceptable to participants is essential for future trial design and to ultimately promote compliance. We therefore undertook a cross-sectional questionnaire study, the aim of which was to assess current attitudes towards chemopreventive agents and to determine which characteristics make chemopreventive agents more acceptable to potential target populations. Questionnaires were distributed to four groups of participants: university students, cancer patients, partners/spouses of patients with cancer and individuals at a high familial risk for cancer. The survey's overall response rate was 35.5% (350 participants). The majority of participants (92.9%) considered taking cancer chemopreventive agents. Factors that positively influenced participants towards chemoprevention were a family history of cancer and having children. Diet-derived chemopreventive agents were preferred by 74.6%, who associated these agents with being 'healthier' and having a better side-effect profile. Most participants preferred either two medium-sized capsules or four small capsules daily. Overall, participants were keen to consider chemoprevention, particularly in cases in which cancer risk was high, and preferred diet-derived agents, believing them to have minimal side-effects.
authors.affiliation: aDepartment of Cancer Studies and Molecular Medicine, University of Leicester Departments of bOncology cClinical Genetics, Leicester Royal Infirmary dDepartment of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Leicester General Hospital, Leicester, UK.
authors.forename: Chinenye
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Iwuji
authors.forename: Lynne
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Howells
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Thomasset
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Steward
authors.forename: Julian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Barwell
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Thomas
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016588:Anticarcinogenic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001294:Attitude to Health; D018890:Chemoprevention / Q000523:psychology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000517:prevention & control*; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012306:Risk; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D016588:Anticarcinogenic Agents