Assessment of Knowledge of Cancer Risk Factors and Awareness of Early Cancer Warning Signs among University Students

Abstract

Objective: To predict the level of knowledge about cancer risk factors and the level of awareness of the most common warning symptoms of cancer among university students in Kyrenia, Northern Cyprus. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in Kyrenia, Northern Cyprus among university students from different academic disciplines, including medical and non-medical disciplines, using a structured questionnaire. Results: A total of 150 students participated in this study, half of them were non-medical students (51.3%). There was a low level of knowledge of cancer risk factors reported by most of the respondents of both groups. The difference between the responses to risk factors between the medical and non-medical students was found to be statistically significant regarding alcohol consumption (9.6% vs. 13%; p=.004), consumption of processed red meat (12.3% vs. 54.5%; p