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"The positive message seemed to wipe out the differences between high and low mistrust levels," he said.

The results were published in the November issue of the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.

Dr. Harvey J. Murff, an assistant professor of medicine at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, who has done similar research, called the new findings "very interesting and useful."

"One message [about screening for cancer] is not going to be appropriate for all cultures and backgrounds," Murff said. The new findings underscore the need for public health officials who create messages for cancer screenings to frame them in a more positive way to get the desired result, he said.

Health officials who want to persuade more people to get screened for colon cancer could take a page from those who create messages to screen for breast cancer, which often take into account cultural differences, Murff said. Breast cancer screening has improved greatly over the years, he said, adding, "This has not been looked at as well in colon and rectal cancer."

More information

To learn more about colon and rectal cancer, visit the U.S. National Cancer Institute.

SOURCES: Robert Nicholson, Ph.D., assistant professor of neurology and psychiatry, St. Louis University, St. Louis, Mo.; Harvey J. Murff, M.D., assistant professor of medicine, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville; November 2008, Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention