Study: Information-seeking patients more likely to receive latest treatments

Study: Information-seeking patients more likely to receive latest treatments

Cancer patients who seek out health information from the Internet and media are more likely to be aware of and receive the latest treatments, according to a study in the April 1, 2009, issue of CANCER, a journal of the American Cancer Society. Researchers found that information-seeking patients were more likely to have higher awareness of and receive treatment using target therapies. Patients who sought information about treatments were 2.83 times more likely to have heard about targeted therapies and 3.22 times more likely to have received targeted therapies. The study examined the relationship of information-seeking in 633 colorectal cancer patients and the use of novel new agents for the disease.