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This study assessed awareness of mythical cancer causes among adults in central Uganda.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A community-based cross-sectional survey was conducted among 428 adults (\u2265\u200918\u00a0years) in central Uganda using multistage random sampling. Participants completed a modified Cancer Awareness Measure-Mythical Causes Scale. Good awareness was defined as correctly identifying at least 10 of 20 mythical causes. Descriptive and non-parametric analyses examined awareness and associated factors.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Participants had a mean age of 36.5 \u00b1 14.5\u00a0years, and 61.2% were female. Awareness of mythical cancer causes was extremely low; only 1.6% correctly identified at least half of the items, with a mean score of 2.4\/20 (12%). The most commonly endorsed myth was that \u201ceating food cooked in a polythene bag\u201d causes cancer (95.3%). Lower awareness was associated with older age, being married, and lower education, while having a relative with cancer was associated with better recognition of myths (p &lt; 0.05).<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Misconceptions about cancer causes were widespread in this Ugandan population. Cancer awareness initiatives should promote evidence-based risk factors while dispelling common myths, particularly among older and less-educated populations, to strengthen cancer prevention.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1007\/s10552-026-02249-7","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,11]],"date-time":"2026-09-11T13:59:28Z","timestamp":1789135168000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Awareness of the mythical causes of cancer in central Uganda: a community cross-sectional survey"],"prefix":"10.1007","volume":"37","author":[{"given":"Nicholas","family":"Matovu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Helen G.","family":"Coleman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Gerald","family":"Mutungi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Michael","family":"Donnelly","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Brian T.","family":"Johnston","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Maurice B.","family":"Loughrey","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Alfred","family":"Jatho","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Noleb M.","family":"Mugisha","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Charlene M.","family":"McShane","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,11]]},"reference":[{"key":"2249_CR1","unstructured":"WHO (2022) Cancer. 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