Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Mar;30(3):369-383.
doi: 10.1177/13591053241255053. Epub 2024 Jun 10.

Beliefs, screening attitudes and breast cancer awareness of young women with neurofibromatosis type 1: A reflexive thematic analysis

Caitríona Plunkett  1 , Melissa Pilkington  1
Affiliations

Beliefs, screening attitudes and breast cancer awareness of young women with neurofibromatosis type 1: A reflexive thematic analysis

Caitríona Plunkett et al. J Health Psychol. 2025 Mar.

Abstract

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) predisposes individuals to benign and malignant tumours. Young women with NF1 (<50 years) have an up to five-fold increased risk of breast cancer. The UK adopts moderate cancer risk guidelines of NICE, advising women with NF1 to attend breast screening from 40 years. Previous results from a systematic review and meta-analysis found that breast cancer in this cohort predominantly occurs from 34 to 44 years. Without earlier screening, breast awareness is fundamental. Reflexive thematic analysis and semi-structured interview questions based on the health belief model explored whether a tailor-made breast cancer awareness intervention would be beneficial by examining beliefs, screening attitudes and breast cancer awareness of young women with NF1. Findings suggest the establishment of accessible and accurate NF1 and breast awareness information, development and implementation of a breast awareness intervention for young women with NF1, and healthcare professionals.

Keywords: breast awareness intervention; breast cancer awareness; neurofibromatosis type 1; qualitative methods; rare disease research; reflexive thematic analysis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of conflicting interestsThe authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

References

    1. Anastasi N, Lusher J. (2017) The impact of breast cancer awareness interventions on breast screening uptake among women in the United Kingdom: A systematic review. Journal of Health Psychology 24(1): 113–124. - PubMed
    1. Barua Z, Barua S, Aktar S, et al.. (2020) Effects of misinformation on COVID-19 individual responses and recommendations for resilience of disastrous consequences of misinformation. Progress in Disaster Science 8: 100119. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bergqvist C, Servy A, Valeyrie-Allanore L, et al.. (2020) Neurofibromatosis 1 French national guidelines based on an extensive literature review since 1966. Orphanet Journal of Rare Diseases 15(1): 1–23. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Biancovilli P, Makszin L, Csongor A. (2021) Breast cancer on social media: A quali-quantitative study on the credibility and content type of the most shared news stories. BMC Women’s Health 21(1): 1–11. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bicudo NP, de Menezes Neto BF, De Avó LRDS, et al.. (2016) Quality of life in adults with neurofibromatosis 1 in Brazil. Journal of Genetic Counseling 25: 1063–1074. - PubMed