Evidence on cancer awareness among adolescents and young adults remains fragmented focusing on adult populations or the effectiveness of educational interventions. Despite well-established benefits of early detection in improving cancer outcomes, delayed help seeking remains an ongoing challenge. The aim of this review was to explore the current literature on cancer awareness and health seeking behavior among adolescents and young adults. A comprehensive search of five databases was conducted between 2015 and 2025. Findings from 58 studies, representing a wide range of cancer types, revealed that participants demonstrated higher awareness of common cancers but underestimated their personal vulnerability, consistent with the heightened perceived invulnerability characteristic of this developmental period. Common barriers to timely health-seeking included cultural sensitivities, embarrassment, and perceived vulnerability, alongside gaps in specific symptom knowledge. Cancer awareness amongst adolescents and young adults did not consistently translate into understanding their own personal risk or seeking help in a timely manner. The findings of this review suggest that the key challenge is not simply increasing cancer awareness in this group, but subsequently recognising their own vulnerability to cancer, identifying when health-seeking action is required, and overcoming barriers to accessing care.
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Pathrose et al. (2026) studied this question.
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