Is the 1939 Cancer Act Fit for Purpose in the Modern Technology Era?

The 1939 Cancer Act in the UK (England & Wales) prohibits advertising of cancer treatments to the public, by anyone but the NHS. The rise of the internet and social media presents new challenges to its enforcement and raises questions about unintended consequences for patients being treated for cancer.

Through anonymous surveys, this study aims to understand how patients, healthcare professionals and industry professionals perceive technological changes and their implications for online and social media cancer care information, as well as highlight opportunities for safe and ethical modernisation.

Recruiting

Interested in participating?

Request Info

Key information

Conditions

Cancer Cancer (Active Cancer, Meaning Not Being Cancer Free), of Any Stage and Involving Any Treatment/Care Regimen; i.e. Curative, Life-extending, or Palliative Cancer (Advanced Stage) Cancer (Solid Tumors) Cancer (With or Without Metastasis) Neoplasms

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Observational

Primary location

Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust

Truro, United Kingdom

Location status: Recruiting

Location contact

RCHT Sponsor RCHT Sponsor

CONTACT

[email protected]

01872 255117 ext. 01872 255117

About this study

This study will be inviting patients who have recently received treatment for cancer to participate in a single survey, about their experiences of online and social media information during their cancer journey and their views on the current law. Healthcare professionals who work with cancer patients will also be invited to participate in their own variation of this survey.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

Patients/Relatives:

UK residents (England and Wales ONLY).
Have been treated for a cancer within the last three years.
Aged 18 or over.
Can complete the survey themselves or have it completed on their behalf by a friend or family member (with the patient's permission).

Healthcare Professionals:

UK-based professionals in the healthcare industry.
Working with patients diagnosed with cancer.
Consulting with patients at least once a month or more frequently.
Aged 18 or over.

Exclusion criteria

No explicit exclusion criteria are defined within provided materials, therefore any individual not meeting the inclusion criteria will be excluded.

Treatment and study plan

Primary outcomes

Is the 1939 Cancer Act fit for purpose in the current digital era?

Time frame: The study will be open for 6 months
The survey uses factual single-choice items, multiple-response items and mainly Likert-scale attitude questions.

Themes of questions and reported outcomes are:
- Current use of online information for cancer: report descriptively.
- Reasons for not using online/social media information. Report proportions and themes of free-text question.
- Private healthcare information access. Report descriptively.
Following outcomes will have numerically-codes Likert scales with report of mean and standard deviation:
- Perceived adequacy of cancer information
- Confidence in evaluating online cancer information
- Attitudes toward the Cancer Act 1939. Support for modernising the Cancer Act, Attitudes toward direct-to-patient advertising and advertising of alternative treatments
- Views on digital misinformation issues
Overall view on reform. Assesses whether the Cancer Act needs reform; treat as an ordinal outcome with statistical testing (Kruskall Wallis test, P value, SD).

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust

Other

Collaborators

University of Warwick

Registry information

Important dates

Study start: 2026
Primary completion: 2026
Study completion: 2026
First posted: May 13, 2026
Registry last updated: May 13, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

Published trials that share one or more normalized conditions with this study.

Not Yet Recruiting