Perception of Lung Cancer among the General Population and Comparison with Other Cancers

Julien Mazières (1) , Jean-Louis Pujol (2, 3) , Nikos Kalampalikis (4) , Diane Bouvry (5) , Elisabeth Quoix (6) , Thomas Filleron (7) , Nathalie Targowla , Denise Jodelet (8) , Julie Milia (1) , Bernard Milleron (9)

1 CHU Toulouse - Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse
2 CHRU Montpellier - Centre Hospitalier Régional Universitaire [Montpellier]
3 EPSYLON - Dynamique des capacités humaines et des conduites de santé
4 GRePS - Groupe de Recherche en Psychologie Sociale
5 Service de pneumologie [Avicenne]
6 Service de pneumologie
7 IUCT Oncopole - UMR 1037 - Institut Universitaire du Cancer de Toulouse - Oncopole
8 IIAC - Institut interdisciplinaire d'anthropologie du contemporain
9 CHU Tenon [AP-HP]

Of the 1469 subjects eligible for full analysis, most were well informed regarding the epidemiological changes to lung cancer and the main risk factors. The overall survival of patients with lung cancer (32%) was overestimated, and the survival of patients with early stages of lung cancer was underestimated (52%). Lung cancer was identified as a severe disease (82%) with a worse prognosis than other cancers. Most of the population was aware of the main treatments available, except for targeted therapy. Using lexical analyses, we observed that a major proportion considered lung cancer to be a tobacco-induced, life-threatening disease that involved major treatment, and a minor proportion considered it to be an environmentally induced disease. Compared with breast cancer, lung cancer was characterized by a greater feeling of guilt and was more frequently associated with lifestyle.

Domaines: Cancer; Pneumologie et système respiratoire; Sciences de l'Homme et Société

Julien Mazières, Jean-Louis Pujol, Nikos Kalampalikis, Diane Bouvry, Elisabeth Quoix, et al.. Perception of Lung Cancer among the General Population and Comparison with Other Cancers. Journal of Thoracic Oncology, 2015, 10 (3), pp.420-425. ⟨10.1097/JTO.0000000000000433⟩. ⟨hal-02147308⟩