Table 2.

Types of falsehoods in different thematic categories of gynecologic cancer–related information on Weibo.

Thematic category and types of falsehoods		Definition	Example
Background knowledge
	Epidemiology	The distribution and determinants of health and disease conditions in specified populations	The cancer prevalence rate is 10% higher in China than the world average
	Risk factors	An aspect of personal behavior or lifestyle, environmental exposure, inborn or inherited characteristic, which on the basis of epidemiological evidence, is known to be associated with a health-related condition	Using preservative-containing cosmetics is one of the main causes of breast cancer
	Pathology	A specialty concerned with the nature and cause of disease as expressed by changes in cellular or tissue structure and function caused by the disease process	Breast hyperplasia is the beginning of breast cancer
	Prognosis	A prediction of the probable outcome of a disease based on an individual’s condition and the usual course of the disease as seen in similar situations	Triple-negative breast cancer has a better prognosis than the normal type, and the 5-year survival rate is high
Prevention
	Lifestyle	Typical way of life or manner of living characteristic of an individual or group	Drinking 5 cups of coffee a day or regular exercise, such as cycling, could reduce the risk of developing breast cancer by at least 20%
	Vaccinations	Administration of vaccines to stimulate individuals’ immune responses	The HPVa vaccine can reduce the risk of cervical cancer by 100%
Diagnosis
	Clinical manifestations	A symptom is observed by the patient subjectively but cannot be measured directly, whereas a sign is objectively observable by others	Any abnormality of the breast is an early symptom of breast cancer
	Diagnostic techniques and procedures	Methods, procedures, and tests performed to diagnose a disease, disordered function, or disability	A compound derived from urinary thiol is the only reagent that can detect early cervical cancer
Treatment
	Surgery	Operations conducted for the correction of deformities and defects, repair of injuries, and diagnosis and cure of certain diseases	Precancerous lesions in the endometrium indicate the need for surgery to remove the uterus
	Radiotherapy	Ionizing radiation conducted to treat malignant neoplasms and some benign conditions	Up to 60% of cancer patients need radiotherapy in various stages of treatment
	Drug therapy	Drugs and chemicals, including chemotherapy, targeted therapy, and endocrine therapy	The new drug pertuzumab (Perjeta) has been used together with herceptin and chemotherapy to shrink tumors completely, so some patients do not need surgery
	Other therapies	Other therapies, including traditional Chinese medicine, biotherapy, and interventional therapy	With the application of traditional Chinese medicine, most patients with breast cancer will not need surgery

^aHPV: human papillomavirus.