Journal of Cancer Education最新文献

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is one of the most common head and neck tumors and is particularly prevalent in certain geographical regions, especially Southeast Asia. Radiotherapy remains the cornerstone of treatment; however, patients often exhibit misconceptions due to limited health literacy, which may compromise treatment adherence and outcomes. Large language models (LLMs) provide a novel approach to patient education, yet their reliability and readability in the context of radiotherapy for NPC have not been systematically evaluated. In July 2025, we conducted a comparative evaluation of ChatGPT-4o and DeepSeek-R1 in addressing educational questions related to NPC radiotherapy. The DISCERN instrument was used to assess response quality and reliability, while text readability was measured using the Flesch-Kincaid Reading Ease Score (FRES), Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL), and Coleman-Liau Index (CLI). Statistical analyses were performed using RStudio (v4.2.2). Both models achieved overall DISCERN scores of 51-62, indicating a "good" quality rating, with strengths in relevance and neutrality. However, deficiencies were noted in the areas of evidence currency, guideline references, and long-term side effects. DeepSeek-R1 demonstrated significantly higher readability compared with ChatGPT-4o, with a 25.6% reduction in FKGL and a 27% decrease in mean sentence length, making it more accessible for populations with limited health literacy. LLMs show substantial potential in supporting patient education for NPC radiotherapy, particularly by enhancing readability. Nonetheless, current models remain limited in terms of source transparency and completeness of clinical details. Future development should incorporate multimodal educational formats, real-time guideline integration, and structured output templates to further improve information reliability and patient support.

Under-represented in medicine (URM) trainees experience higher discrimination and attrition rates, increased depression and burnout. This is the first mentorship program developed for URM medical students, residents and fellows in Canada in radiation oncology to try and improve trainee well-being and inclusion. The Canadian Association of Radiation Oncology - Underrepresented in Radiation Oncology Mentorship Program (CARO-UROMP) was developed through materials adapted from the Association of Residents in Radiation Oncology's Equity and Inclusion Subcommittee. Mentees and mentors were paired based on a pre-program needs assessment. The program was administered for an 8-month duration. Pre and post-program surveys were sent to participants. Between September 2024 and April 2025, 11 mentees and 11 mentors participated. All mentees and mentors were satisfied/very satisfied (100%) with the mentorship program overall. The majority of mentees (87.5%) felt that their mentors were approachable, timely, supportive and listened to their thoughts. Most (75%) were satisfied/very satisfied with career support including jobs and networking advice. For research support, most mentees (62.5%) were satisfied/very satisfied on guidance on research/grant applications and manuscript writing. All mentors agreed/strongly agreed that they were able to improve their mentees' confidence, sense of community and inclusion within RO and that they were able to motivate their mentee to reach their objectives. All mentor/mentee pairs wanted to continue their mentorship relationship. The inaugural year of the CARO-UROMP mentorship program was successful with very high rates of satisfaction. Given the positive impact of the program, the Canada-wide program will look to expand in the future.

Bereaved parents of pediatric cancer patients experience severe grief and psychological distress, but studies on major depressive disorder (MDD) and complicated grief (CG) in Africa, including Cameroon, are lacking. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and predictors of MDD and CG among bereaved parents of deceased pediatric cancer patients in Cameroon. This cross-sectional study included parents of deceased pediatric cancer patients treated at Mbingo Baptist Hospital between 2015 and 2022. Multivariable stepwise logistic regression identified predictors of MDD and CG. The prevalence of CG was 86% and 66.7% of the subjects screened positive for MDD. MDD significant predictors included age [OR 1.09, 95% CI: 1.015-1.174, p = 0.018], financial hardship [OR 9.47, CI: 1.584-56.629, p = 0.014], and coping capacity [medium resilience OR 7.874, 95% CI: 1.385-23.728, p = 0.027]. Predictors of CG included age [OR 1.157, 95% CI: 1.012-1.322, p = 0.032], financial hardship [OR 11.501, 95% CI: 1.115-118.664, p = 0.04], and coping capacity [(low resilient copers OR 14.011, 95% CI: 1.136-156.867, p < 0.01), (medium resilient copers OR 19.023, 95% CI: 2.537-109.001, p < 0.01)]. The study revealed the high prevalence of MDD and CG among bereaved parents of pediatric cancer patients in Cameroon. Inaccurate knowledge about the child's prognosis and poor perceived social support were associated with compromised parental mental health. Personalized mental health support for assisting bereaved families and education for resilience to loss may improve the quality of life of families. The study may have implications for mental health and the the education of families in Cameroon and similar low-income countries.

Adolescents and young adults (ages 15-39) represent the only U.S. age group with rising cancer incidence, underscoring the need for early prevention. Yet, awareness of cancer risk factors among adolescents remains low, and few evidence-based programs are integrated into school curricula. The Cancer Risk Education in Schools for Youth and Families (CARES4You) study aims to co-design a middle school cancer prevention curriculum with teachers to ensure feasibility, alignment with science standards, and relevance to students' lived experiences. Using a mixed-methods approach, data were collected through three complementary sources: (1) Focus groups with 39 teachers and administrators from five New York City public middle schools explored curriculum content, classroom fit, and caregiver engagement. Sessions were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed thematically; (2) Classroom observations (n = 6) documented instructional context, student engagement, teaching strategies, and resource availability, with field notes analyzed descriptively; and (3) Content field testing with Math for America (MƒA) fellows (n = 33) piloted two curriculum units on nicotine and dietary-related cancer risk. Teachers completed structured surveys and provided open-ended feedback on feasibility, clarity, and engagement. Data across all sources were triangulated to identify convergent themes related to feasibility, implementation, and contextual adaptation. Teachers viewed the curriculum as relevant, flexible, and culturally resonant. Six themes emerged: teacher receptivity, environmental context, lessons beyond the curriculum, integration strategies, effective practices, and caregiver engagement. Respondents valued hands-on learning and real-world connections but cited limited time and resources. Integrating teacher co-design with cancer prevention represents a promising, sustainable strategy to enhance adolescent cancer literacy and intergenerational health awareness.

Online cancer information is a key health resource in Japan, particularly for older adults. However, the quality may vary depending on the source. This study aimed to evaluate Japanese-language cancer webpages across different sources in terms of understandability, actionability, readability, and credibility. We analyzed 100 webpages about five major cancers (breast, colorectal, lung, prostate, and gastric) retrieved via Google. Pages, classified as academic (n = 14), medical (n = 51), or corporate (n = 35), and assessed using PEMAT-P, jReadability, and JAMA Benchmark Criteria. Overall, 79 pages (79.0%) scored ≥ 70 in understandability, while only 5 pages (5.0%) reached this threshold in actionability. Corporate pages showed the highest proportion scoring ≥ 70 in understandability (n = 34, 97.1%), followed by academic (n = 14, 100.0%) and medical (n = 31, 60.8%) sources (p < 0.001). Readability was uniformly low, with 98 pages (98.0%) rated as somewhat to very difficult. Corporate sources also displayed significantly higher credibility scores than other sources (p < 0.001). Corporate websites demonstrated clearer structure and higher transparency of source attribution, potentially reflecting organizational standards. However, actionable content remained limited across all sources. These findings highlight a misalignment between user search needs and information design, underscoring the importance of structuring content not only for clarity and reliability, but also for supporting users in taking informed health actions. This has implications for digital cancer education targeting aging populations.

Objective: This study aims to explore the role of ChatGPT-assisted flipped classroom (FC)s in choroidal melanoma education, focusing on its potential to improve learning efficiency, support independent learning, and promote research activities.

Methods: This was a grouped controlled study. A total of 41 ophthalmology postgraduates were recruited to participate in the FC teaching experiment. This study explored the integration of ChatGPT into FC teaching for medical postgraduates. Postgraduate students were recruited and divided into a traditional FC group and a ChatGPT-assisted FC group. Evaluations included student feedback, classroom performance scores, theoretical examination results, literature review assessments, and time allocation data.

Results: The ChatGPT-assisted FC group significantly outperformed the traditional FC group in classroom performance (p < 0.001) and literature review writing, particularly in areas such as structure, citation, and scientific rigor (p < 0.001). Although theoretical exam scores showed no significant difference (p = 0.12), the ChatGPT group demonstrated reduced time requirements for pre-class preparation (p = 0.008) and literature review writing (p < 0.001). Additionally, survey results revealed higher satisfaction in areas such as inspiration, content creation, and efficiency of information retrieval in the ChatGPT group.

Conclusions: The ChatGPT-assisted FC model is a highly effective teaching approach for medical postgraduate education. While it enhances learning efficiency and reduces workload, appropriate integration of ChatGPT with traditional methods is essential to ensure educational quality and academic integrity.

Effective communication is a critical aspect of cancer care delivery. Specific communication challenges exist for culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) patients and healthcare professionals throughout cancer treatment. This literature review aimed to examine the cancer treatment experience of CALD patients. A systematic scoping review was conducted in January 2025 using the databases; OVID Medline, EMBASE, and Cochrane Central. Search parameters included cancer, cultural diversity, language, and patient experience. Adhering to PRISMA guidelines and an established PICOS framework, 47 articles were selected for review. Exclusion criteria omitted duplicates, non-English language publications, articles published prior to 2010, and those unrelated to oncology and/or CALD communities. Three overarching themes were established from the literature; (1) education & empowerment, (2) quality care provision, and (3) system-level change. Communication barriers impacted the experience of cancer care and compromised treatment outcomes. Translated resources and staff cultural awareness training were observed to be beneficial for CALD patients. There is justified need to improve communication supports and resources for CALD patients and their clinicians. However, radiotherapy (RT) specific research is required to safely implement, contextualise and validate findings - informing bespoke communication improvement opportunities within RT practice.

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) mentored career development (K) awards program plays an essential role in supporting early-career scientists in the US. This retrospective cohort study utilized publicly available data from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tools Expenditures and Results (RePORTER) database to obtain data on awards, total costs, and funding mechanisms, and the NIH iCite database to obtain data on publications, citations, and mean relative citation ratio. Principal investigators (PIs) who received NCI mentored K awards between 1981 and 2013 were included, to allow for 10 years of follow-up. Multivariable logistic regression models were employed to explore predictors of attaining an R01-equivalent award. 1,778 K awards were awarded by the NCI between 1981-2013, with a median total cost of $128,036 per award/year. Around 43% received an R01-equivalent award over a total of 4,827 person-years, with a median time to award of 5.5 years and an incidence rate of 0.16 (95% CI: 0.15, 0.17) awards per person-year. In multivariable logistic regression models, PIs who received a K08 (OR = 1.47) K22 (OR = 1.72), or a K99 (OR = 1.55) displayed greater odds of attaining an R01-equivalent award compared to K01 awardees (p < .05 for all). PIs based in independent hospitals (OR = 1.45 vs. institutes of higher education), who focused on molecular/cellular research (OR = 1.37 vs. clinical human research), had a greater number of publications per year (OR = 1.40/publication/year), had a higher mean relative citation ratio (OR = 1.65/5 units increase), and published for a longer time interval (OR = 1.09/year), displayed greater odds of receiving an R01-equivalent award (p < .05 for all). In conclusion, productivity metrics, including greater publication and citation rates, were associated with a higher likelihood of successful transition to independence.