Chatbot Intervention and Cancer Risk Knowledge in Adolescents and Young Adults With Cancer Predisposition: A Randomized Clinical Trial.
Junne Kamihara, Angel M Cronin, Hajime Uno et al.
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In 30 seconds
This multicentre randomized clinical trial evaluated whether a tailored electronic chatbot improved cancer-risk understanding among English-speaking adolescents and young adults aged 12 to 24 years with one of nine hereditary cancer predisposition syndromes. Participants received a predisposition clinic visit alone or with the chatbot. After the visit, accurate knowledge of cancer risk by age 30 years was reported by 78% (42 of 54) in the intervention group and 37% (19 of 52) in the control group; the odds ratio for improvement was 3.50 (95% CI, 1.45-9.19; P = .005). Screening knowledge and distress differences were not statistically significant.
Key findings
- Accurate knowledge of cancer risk by age 30 years after the visit was 78% (42 of 54) with the chatbot and 37% (19 of 52) with clinic care alone.
- Improvement in cancer-risk knowledge favored the chatbot intervention (OR, 3.50; 95% CI, 1.45-9.19; P = .005).
- Screening knowledge improved non-significantly (OR, 2.17; 95% CI, 0.85-5.59; P = .11), while distress was not significantly reduced (β = -0.50; 95% CI, -1.09 to 0.08; P = .09).
Why it matters
Understanding future cancer risk is important for young people with hereditary predisposition, including as they consider recommended screening. The trial suggests that personalized electronic information added to a clinical visit can improve near-term risk knowledge without evidence of increased psychological distress. The findings also distinguish this knowledge benefit from outcomes for which the study did not demonstrate statistically significant differences.
What to keep in mind
The trial enrolled 106 participants across four centres, and outcomes were assessed by baseline and follow-up surveys; the abstract does not report longer-term effects.