The government-funded survey conducted by scientists at Dartmouth Medical School, found that more than half of adults in a nationwide survey recalled celebrity endorsements for cancer screening, and more than a fourth said the pitch made them more likely to get tested.
The survey, released Tuesday in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, is the first of its kind to assess the impact of celebrity endorsements, such as former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani who campaigned on behalf of prostate-cancer testing and journalist Katie Couric who urged the public to get colon cancer checks are recent high-profile advertisements.
Scientists surveyed 500 men and women of age to be considering PSA screening for prostate cancer, mammograms for breast cancer and - for both genders - colorectal cancer screening either by colonoscopy or sigmoidoscopy.
The researchers found that, most of the time, the celebrity endorsements didn't affect screening decisions. But of those who recalled seeing endorsements, between 25 percent and 37 percent said it made them more likely to get one of the three screenings. No one knows, however, whether the endorsements increase cancer testing among the people who stand to benefit most.
