Understanding the Pathway of Cancer Information Seeking: Cancer Information Services as a Supplement to Information from Other Sources.

Cancer information services (CISs) can play an important role within the pathway of cancer information seeking, but so far, this role is not well understood. Callers (n = 6,255) who contacted the largest provider of cancer information in Germany participated in a survey in which they reported their information sources, information level, and needs leading to the call. Persons with prior information from a physician (n = 1,507) were compared to people with prior online information (n = 901) and people with prior information from both sources (n = 2,776). Nearly all callers (96.7%) stated prior sources, while physicians and the Internet were the most frequently reported sources. People, who only talked to a doctor before, are more likely to be a patient and in the disease stages during/after the first treatment or with recurrence than prior Internet users. The two groups do not differ in their prior information level but did differ in their information needs. CISs are an important supplement to other sources, while the information repertoire depends on patients' stages during the cancer journey. Specific characteristics and needs of callers with different prior information sources help to individualize the service of CISs and similar providers.

Expanding the Health Information National Trends Survey Research Program Internationally to Examine Global Health Communication Trends: Comparing Health Information Seeking Behaviors in the U.S. and Germany.

The Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) is a well-established U.S.-based research program administered by the National Cancer Institute to track the public access to and use of health information. This paper introduces a German research initiative, part of the International Studies to Investigate Global Health Information Trends (INSIGHTS) research consortium. This adaptation of the HINTS is important for initiating analyses of global health communication practices and comparing health information seeking behaviors (HISB) across nations to pinpoint potentials and challenges of health information provision and contribute to a deeper understanding of socio-contextual determinants of HISB. First cross-country comparisons revealed that the share of residents seeking for health information is high in the U.S. (80%) and Germany (74%), but different primary sources are used. Whereas a clear majority of U.S. residents chose the Internet to gather health information (74.9%), Germans most often turn to health professionals (48.0%). Socio-structural and health(care)-related predictors were found to contribute to the explanation of HISB in both countries, whereas information-related predictors were only relevant in Germany. The results indicate the need to engage in patient-provider communication to initiate HISB and to improve the access to information for residents with lower socio-economic backgrounds.

Demographic and cancer-related differences between self-seeking patients and supported patients: Analysis of cancer information-service data.

OBJECTIVE: Surrogate information seeking is quite common, and several studies have presented data on caregivers, family members, and friends who seek health information on the Internet or from a cancer-information service (CIS) on behalf of cancer patients. However, these studies provide little information about the patients who are supported by surrogate seekers. Therefore, this study analyzed demographic and cancer-related differences, including diverse informational needs, between self-seeking patients and patients who benefited from surrogate seekers (ie, caregivers, family, or friends) requesting information on their behalf. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective audit of phone and e-mail inquiries to a German CIS between January and December 2016 from self-seeking patients (n = 13 723) and surrogate information seekers, as well as the corresponding supported patients (n = 6696). RESULTS: Supported patients were more likely to be males (P < 0.001), older than self-seeking patients (P < 0.001), and older than the corresponding surrogate seekers (P < 0.001). They were also more likely to be in the diagnostic or palliative stage (P < 0.001) and were less likely to suffer from breast cancer or prostate cancer (P < 0.001) than self-seeking patients. There were significant differences in the CIS requests of self-seekers and surrogate seekers. CONCLUSIONS: The results point to different support needs of self-seekers and surrogate seekers. Thus, surrogate seekers and their corresponding supported patients should be seen as a separate target group to self-seeking patients, with the former requiring informational and emotional support on diverging topics and at different disease stages.

Single-molecule observations of topotecan-mediated TopIB activity at a unique DNA sequence.

The rate of DNA supercoil removal by human topoisomerase IB (TopIB) is slowed down by the presence of the camptothecin class of antitumor drugs. By preventing religation, these drugs also prolong the lifetime of the covalent TopIB-DNA complex. Here, we use magnetic tweezers to measure the rate of supercoil removal by drug-bound TopIB at a single DNA sequence in real time. This is accomplished by covalently linking camptothecins to a triple helix-forming oligonucleotide that binds at one location on the DNA molecule monitored. Surprisingly, we find that the DNA dynamics with the TopIB-drug interaction restricted to a single DNA sequence are indistinguishable from the dynamics observed when the TopIB-drug interaction takes place at multiple sites. Specifically, the DNA sequence does not affect the instantaneous supercoil removal rate or the degree to which camptothecins increase the lifetime of the covalent complex. Our data suggest that sequence-dependent dynamics need not to be taken into account in efforts to develop novel camptothecins.