Skip to main content
2025 ASBH Annual Conference Main banner
OSU Master of Arts in Bioethics Ad
Icon Legend
This session is not in your schedule.
This session is in your schedule. Click again to remove it.

Flash Presentation

Law, Public Health Policy, Organizational Ethics

Session: Flash Session: Law, Public Health Policy, Organizational Ethics

Marketing Cancer Care: A Content Analysis of Ethical Compliance in Television Advertising by Top-Ranked U.S. Cancer Centers

Thursday, October 23, 2025
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM Pacific Time
Location: A105
Amitabha Palmer – Assistant Professor: Critical Care Medicine, Center for Clinical Ethics in Cancer Care, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Abstract: Direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) in cancer care influences patient decisions but often targets vulnerable populations. Despite established ethical guidelines, adherence remains understudied. This study evaluates how well top U.S. cancer centers comply with these standards in television advertisements. We analyzed 31 TV ads from 2019 to 2024 produced by members of the top 20 cancer centers as ranked by U.S. News & World Report, comparing them against ethical guidelines from the American Medical Association, American Society of Clinical Oncology, and others. Two independent reviewers categorized ads as compliant, borderline, or transgressive. Transgressive ads explicitly violated guidelines, while borderline cases contained ambiguous claims with at least one problematic interpretation. Of the 31 ads from 12 institutions, 16 (52%) were either transgressive or borderline. Only 4 of 12 (33%) institutions produced exclusively compliant ads. Common issues included unrealistic expectations (36%), implying exclusive treatment availability (13%), and unclear eligibility criteria (13%). Notably, institutions ranked in the top 10 produced 71% of the ads and were responsible for 8 of 9 transgressive cases. The prevalence of transgressive advertising suggests that ethical guidelines alone are insufficient. Potential solutions include increasing awareness among marketing leadership and enforcing compliance, possibly as a hospital accreditation requirement. As cancer care continues to advance and treatment options become more complex, ensuring ethical advertising practices is crucial for supporting informed patient decision-making and maintaining public trust in healthcare institutions.

Keywords: Direct-to-Consumer Advertising, Patient Education, Oncology

Learning Objectives:

After participating in this conference, attendees should be able to:
  • Better recognize ethically fraught video advertisements for cancer care.
  • Describe the current state of television advertising for cancer care with regards to the ways it may mislead vulnerable patients.
  • Articulate steps their respective institutions can take proactively to avoid compounding the problem of unethical DTCA for cancer care.