A3

Introduction: Cancer is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The number of new cases is predicted to increase to more than 15 million by 2020, with deaths reaching 12 million. The disease incidence is also increasing rapidly in developing countries. As an attempt to revert this scenario, a number of innovative initiatives aimed at cancer control and prevention has been launched. Our group in Brazil has taken the initiative of creating the exhibition "The fight against cancer takes the metro" that is a collection of 20 posters containing information on cancer research and prevention and aimed at the laymen. "The fight against cancer takes the metro" was on display in several subway stations of the city of São Paulo, in Brazil. The aim of this exhibition was to provide commuters in the biggest and busiest city in Brazil with information to help them and, indirectly, a broader net of people, to understand cancer as well as prevention and treatments issues. Methods: The exhibition of 20 posters covered 7 different subway stations in 8 months. All the posters included an illustration and a short text. The illustrations were colorful, artistic, yet serious and realistic, as an attempt to attract people's attention to the images and then to reading the text. The information in the posters focused on risk factors, signs and symptoms of different types of cancers, and on the importance of early detection. It also describes some measures people can adopt to prevent or decrease the chances of having cancer. Information on how cancer develops and can be treated was also provided. To evaluate the initiative and to gain some feedback from the subway commuters, a survey was done in two of the subway stations.- Corinthians-Itaquera (CI) and Vila Madalena (VM). Results: Overall, 10% of the commuters - representing about 1.5 million people - saw the posters during the 8 months they were on display. Together, 426 people were interviewed, 210 in CI and 216 in VM, respectively. Despite of major social and economical differences in the surveyed populations of the two stations, the vast majority of the commuters reported that the posters were understandable (92% in CI and 95% in VM) and that the illustrations had an important role in attracting their attention and in helping them understand the text in each poster (99% in CI and 98% in VM). More than 80% of the respondents indicated that the information in the posters helped to clarify their doubts and their questions about cancer. When asked about the impact the posters had on them, the vast majority reported that they became interested in learning more about the theme (84% in CI and 83% in VM), 36% said that they became concerned about the disease and just a few reported that they became fearful of contracting cancer (2% in CI and 4% in VM). Conclusion: Initial data suggests that campaigns based on illustrative and informative posters to be on display in public places may be an important alternative for communicating health and science related issues.
 >Supported by: FAPESP - Cepid (Centro de Pesquisa, Inovação e Difusão)

Sixth AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research-- Dec 5-8, 2007; Philadelphia, PA