Polish high school students’ knowledge about cancer

Abstract

Background: Cancer, as the second most common cause of death after cardiovascular diseases, is a global health problem. There is still an increasing number of cancer incidences and deaths. Methods: The study was conducted as a part of the health promotion educational project concerning oncological education to develop the knowledge of cancer risk factors among high school students in Poland. A special questionnaire was filled out by students before the educational lesson on cancer conducted by medical students and young doctors. Results: The study was carried out on 227 high school students (aged 17–18 years). Most students (67.5%) indicated that genetic predisposition is the most important cancer risk factor. Only about a quarter of students pointed to the relationship between lifestyle and cancer. Moreover, 41% of students admitted to smoking cigarettes. Most of them (80.6%) claimed that they can modify their own cancer risk. Almost all responders believed that early detected cancer is curable. Conclusions: High school students do not know about cancer risk factors and they do not relate cancer with lifestyle. Some students indicated bad lifestyle habits such as tobacco smoking. It is necessary to emphasize cancer prevention in early education, especially focusing on modification of lifestyle.