Knowledge and beliefs of Malaysian adolescents regarding cancer.

BACKGROUND: Few studies have explored the knowledge and attitudes of adolescents toward cancer prevention and treatment. This lack of research and its potential utility in the development of new educational initiatives and screening methods, or the reconstruction of existing ones, provided the impetus for this study. The primary research aim was to assess secondary school student knowledge of cancer and determine whether or not they possessed basic knowledge of cancer symptoms, risk factors, and treatments and to determine the relationship between cancer knowledge and key demographic factors. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The Management and Science University conducted a cross-sectional study analyzing responses through cross-tabulation with the socio-demographic data collected. RESULTS: The findings of our quantitative analysis suggest that Malaysian youth generally possess a moderate knowledge about cancer. Quantitative analyses found that socioeconomic inequalities and bias in education present as important factors contributing to cancer awareness, prevention, and treatment among Malaysian adolescents. CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicate that Malaysian youth generally possess a moderate knowledge about cancer but the current deficiencies in initiatives directed to cancer awareness continue to hinder the improvement in prevention of cancer among Malaysian adolescents.