Table 1

Example of search strategy (MEDLINE)

Concept 1Concept 2Concept 3Concept 4
Neoplasms (SH)
neoplasm* (free text)
cancer* (free text)
tumor* (free text)
African Continental Ancestry Group (SH)
West Indian* (free text)
‘Afro Caribbean*’ (free text)
‘Afro American*’
African American* (free text)
African Caribbean* (free text)
Black* not (Blackwell) (free text),
minority group* (free text)
ethnic minorit* (free text)
‘Black Minority Ethnic’ (free text)
‘BME’ (free text)
Perception (SH)
Social Perception (SH)
perception* (free text)
social perception* (free text)
opinion* (free text)
Attitude to Health (SH)
attitude* (free text)
social value* (free text)
social norm* (free text)
Culture (SH)
belief* (free text)
understanding* (free text)
language* (free text)
communicat* (free text)
fear* (free text)
mistrust (free text)
trust (free text)
cultur* (free text)
relig* (free text)
knowledge* (free text)
barrier* (free text)
embarrass* (free text)
fatalism (free text)
fatalistic (free text)
income (free text)
socioeconomic* (free text)
depriv* (free text)
educat* (free text)
poor* (free text)
poverty (free text)
Early Diagnosis (SH)
Early Detection of Cancer (SH)
‘Late presentation’ (free text)
‘Early presentation’ (free text)
‘Early diagnos*’ (free text)
‘Late diagnos*’ (free text)
‘early detection cancer’
delay* (free text)