Public Response to a Presidential Prostate Cancer Diagnosis: A Google Trends Analysis of Health Information Seeking Behavior

Purpose: This study assessed how the May 2025 announcement of Joe Biden's prostate cancer diagnosis affected public search interest by analyzing Google Relative Search Volume (RSV) across 14 prostate cancer–related terms and examining whether search trends were associated with state-level characteristics. Methods: US Google Trends data were collected for each term. Autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) models were developed using 8 months of preannouncement data to forecast expected RSV had the announcement not occurred. Observed RSV was compared with expected values to estimate percent change and the proportion of days when observed RSV exceeded forecasts over the following month. Geographic shifts in RSV rankings were compared with state characteristics using t-tests and chi-square tests. R Studio software was used for all analysis. Results: A large search increase after the announcement was observed for “prostate cancer” (+127.8%; 45.9-283.3). Notable rises were seen for prostate cancer “screening” (+164.9%; 43.5-333.9), “signs and symptoms” (+120.0%; 57.1, 288.0), and “survival” (+118.9%; 24.1-399.7). More specific terms such as “PSA testing” (+72.2%; 39.2-138.7), “prostate exam” (+43.4%; 21.45, 102.91), and “prostate cancer treatment” (+39.5%; 26.7, 71.5) also rose, indicating broadened interest across prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. State variation in search behavior was not well explained by state health outcomes, care access, or political alignment. (all P > .21). Conclusions: Biden's diagnosis and announcement were associated with a widespread, sustained rise in public interest surrounding multiple aspects of prostate cancer across the general population. These findings highlight the importance of leveraging moments of heightened public attention to engage the public and promote health awareness.