Chatbot Improves Cancer Risk Knowledge in Young People With Hereditary Predisposition

A randomized clinical trial published in JAMA Network Open evaluated whether a chatbot could improve cancer risk understanding among adolescents and young adults with hereditary cancer predisposition. Investigators at four US centers enrolled 106 English-speaking participants aged 12 to 24 years with one of nine predisposition syndromes. Participants received clinic visits plus the AYA Risk Information and Screening Education chatbot (n = 54) or visits alone (n = 52). The chatbot provided syndrome-specific risk and screening information, alongside educational and support resources.

At baseline, 52% of the intervention group and 38% of controls accurately understood their cancer risk by age 30. After the clinic visit, these proportions were 78% and 37%, respectively. The intention-to-treat analysis showed greater improvement with the chatbot (OR, 3.50; 95% CI, 1.45–9.19; P = .005). Between-group differences in screening knowledge (OR, 2.17; 95% CI, 0.85–5.59) and distress (β = −0.50; 95% CI, −1.09 to 0.08) were not statistically significant.

These findings support tailored electronic education as an adjunct to specialist counseling, rather than a replacement for clinical interaction. Interpretation is limited by the small sample, restriction to English-speaking participants, and baseline differences in risk knowledge. The supplied abstract does not establish whether knowledge gains persist or translate into screening adherence or better clinical outcomes; it also does not report results for lifetime-risk knowledge.