Tendency of Internet Search Data of Oral Neoplasms and Impact of Public Health Programs in European Union

Abstract Background: Tobacco and alcohol are the main risk factors for oral squamous cell carcinoma, the low survival rate of which is a public health problem. European-wide health policies (prevention campaign, tobacco packaging) have been put in place to inform the population of the risks associated with their consumption. Due to the increase in smoking among women and changes in sexual practices, the incidence of this disease is still too high. The identification of data from internet research on the population could make it possible to measure the impact and better orient these preventive measures.The objective was to analyse the data on interest shown in oral cancers from several online databases, and to cross-reference them with the data on the introduction of European public health programs.Methods: A search of data from Google ©, Wikipedia © and Twitter © users in 28 European countries relating to oral cancer between 2004 and 2019 was carried out. Bibliometric analysis of press and scientific articles over the same period was also analysed. The association between these data and the introduction of public health programs in Europe has been studied.Results: Changes in tobacco packaging correlated with a significant increase in internet research on oral cancer in 7 countries. Unlike national policies and campaigns, the European awareness program Make Sense has had no influence on internet research. There was an asymmetric correlation in internet searches between publications on oral cancer from scientific articles or "traditional" media (weak association) and those from internet media such as Twitter © or Wikipedia © (strong association).Conclusion: Our work highlights 7 areas of work around which oral cancer awareness in Europe could be refocused.