The survey, published in the journal Cancer, may mean patients with cancer fail to get treatment or fail to stick with it, the researchers said.

The telephone survey of 957 adults was designed to represent the general US population, said the researchers, led by Dr Ted Gansler of the American Cancer Society.

"The most prevalent misconception, 'Treating cancer with surgery can cause it to spread throughout the body,' was endorsed as true by 41 per cent of the respondents," the researchers wrote in their report.

"The second most prevalent misconception, 'The medical industry is withholding a cure for cancer from the public in order to increase profits,' was identified as true by 27 per cent."