How to Interpret News About Ways to Prevent Cancer
You might hear about methods to prevent cancer from the news, social media, or word of mouth. Learn about the right questions to ask before you try any new ways to prevent cancer.
Questions to ask before trying out a new way to prevent cancer
Before trying out a new method to prevent cancer, learn as much as you can and talk to your health care provider. Many products and methods that are promoted as ways to prevent cancer have not been proven to work and, in some situations, might even be harmful.
Ask yourself these questions to make sure you’re getting reliable information.
Expert-written research articles and summary reports of research and guidelines are trusted sources of information. But many people get information from other sources.
News sources
Major news sources generally try to provide accurate, unbiased information. They tend to have reporters and journalists who have experience covering health-related issues and who understand what’s important. But journalists at smaller news sources might not have as much experience and may have a harder time interpreting the research for people.
Even when the news comes from a source you trust, headlines can’t present how complex or uncertain some study findings are. Even full articles can have space limits that might mean key details are left out. Often, the whole story can’t be told in a short article or a 60-second news clip.
Social media
Chain emails, texts, blog posts, and social media are common sources of information for many people. The original source of the story is often impossible to find and the actual content can change over time.
Information about cancer prevention methods on social media or online needs to be checked against reliable sources. Research shows that many posts on the internet about medical treatments are incorrect.
It’s best to find trusted sources that cite research found in peer-reviewed medical journals. That means the research is reviewed by experts in the field to be sure that proper research methods were followed.
The importance of multiple studies
Usually, it takes more than one study to prove a method works. Sometimes when multiple studies are done, researchers can get different results. Sometimes a treatment looks great in the first study but then other studies have different outcomes. Most often, expert recommendations are based on multiple studies that have consistent results.
If a news report only focuses on one research study, look at how many people were studied and whether there are other studies that had similar results. The more studies and the more people in the study, the better.
If you can’t find any research data
If you can’t find any research data to support a prevention method, it could be that it either has not been put through careful studies, or it was studied and was found not to help prevent cancer.
There are many dietary supplements that are promoted to help prevent cancer. Dietary supplements don’t have the same strict safety requirements that medicines do. Makers of dietary supplements and other food sources don't have to study them in clinical trials, so it is often impossible to know for sure if they are safe or effective.
There are many ways that information about cancer prevention can be biased or misleading.
Bias in research funding
Most cancer studies are done by researchers at universities, medical centers, or government agencies. However, sometimes other groups that have a financial interest in producing certain results can fund research.
Finding out where the study was done and who funded it can give you a better idea of how trustworthy the results might be.
Bias in the news
Sometimes, what looks like a news story is really a press release from groups that have a vested interest in promoting new findings. It might also be an ad for products, like some dietary supplements, that have never been FDA approved to prevent or treat diseases.
This doesn’t always mean the information isn’t true. If you’re not familiar with the source of the information, do some research with credible sources, such as universities or government agencies.
Bias in personal experience
When one person talks about their experience with a product, it is called anecdotal information. It isn’t the same as what comes from research. Trustworthy studies about cancer prevention involve looking at a lot of people over time.
Keep in mind that a person may credit an herb or supplement with feeling better, even though there may be other factors involved. And sometimes a person’s belief in a method may be enough to make a person feel better for at least a short time.
Fraud
Sometimes, information can be fraud. Although the website might look official, the information used is all fake.
An online search can reveal a lot about who’s in a group and what their goals are. Try to keep their goals in mind as you look at their information to see if they might be boosting results that benefit them.
Since there are many different types of cancer, which often have different causes, it’s very unlikely that one method can prevent all of them. Be careful about claims that there’s one method that prevents all types of cancer.
What do the experts say?
Experts at several national and international agencies review the available evidence to try to determine the cancer-causing risks of different things we are exposed to, as well as possible ways to lower cancer risk.
If you see something in the news or on social media, especially if you’re unsure of the source, check the claims against what these experts say.
Along with the American Cancer Society, the agencies below help provide information about cancer prevention that is based on strong research results.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- National Cancer Institute (NCI)
- American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR)
Check with your health care team
Before you decide to try a new way to prevent cancer, especially if it is not proven to work, talk with your health care team to find out if it might benefit you.
Some methods have been proven safe, but the safety of others is still unknown. Often, supplements or other prevention methods may cause side effects, allergic reactions, or other problems.
- Written by
- Additional resources
- References
The American Cancer Society medical and editorial content team
Our team is made up of doctors and oncology certified nurses with deep knowledge of cancer care as well as editors and translators with extensive experience in medical writing.
Along with the American Cancer Society, other sources of information and support include:
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Toll-free number: 1-800-422-6237 (1-800-4-CANCER)
TTY: 1-800-332-8615
Website: www.cancer.gov
International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC)
Website: www.iarc.fr
National Toxicology Program (NTP)
Website: http://ntp.niehs.nih.gov
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Website: www.epa.gov
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Toll-free number: 1-888-463-6332
Website: www.fda.gov
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
Toll-free number: 1-800-232-4636
Website: www.cdc.gov/niosh
*Inclusion on this list does not imply endorsement by the American Cancer Society.
American Cancer Society. Cancer Facts & Figures 2026. Atlanta. American Cancer Society; 2026. Accessed at https://www.cancer.org/content/dam/cancer-org/research/cancer-facts-and-statistics/annual-cancer-facts-and-figures/2026/2026-cancer-facts-and-figures.pdf. on January 9, 2026.
Buckner CA, Lafrenie RM, Dénommée JA, Caswell JM, Want DA. Complementary and alternative medicine use in patients before and after a cancer diagnosis. Curr Oncol. 2018 Aug;25(4):e275-e281.
Loeb S, Langford AT, Bragg MA, Sherman R, Chan JM. Cancer misinformation on social media. CA Cancer J Clin. 2024;74(5):453-464. doi:10.3322/caac.21857
National Cancer Institute. Participate in cancer prevention trials. Accessed at https://www.cancer.gov/research/participate/how/prevention-trials on January 8, 2026.
National Cancer Institute. Types of Clinical Trials. Accessed at https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/clinical-trials/what-are-trials/types on January 8, 2026.
National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements. Health information: Dietary supplement fact sheet. Accessed at http://ods.od.nih.gov/HealthInformation/ on January 9, 2026.
Last Revised: February 6, 2026
American Cancer Society medical information is copyrighted material. For reprint requests, please see our Content Usage Policy.
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