Potential Impact of Social Media on Clinical Cancer Trials

An experienced computer programming and human resources professional, Darcy Cardarelli has spent time as an executive in various industries, including time as a manager with John Hancock and as president of SOTAS International in Haverhill, Massachusetts. As president of AlwaysHaveAHeart.com, Darcy Cardarelli maintains an online platform that allows people to discuss personal experiences with the disease.

A new report suggests that social media can play a significant role in future cancer treatments, particularly when it comes to alerting patients to the benefits of taking part in clinical trials. Due to a variety of concerns, from potential side effects to skepticism regarding placebo treatments, only 5 percent of patients in the United States take part in clinical trials.

Medical professionals and organizations are beginning to use various social media platforms to dispel harmful myths about clinical trials, such as beliefs that trials are only available to terminal patients or that trials should be viewed as a final treatment option. Social media can also be used to alert patients to new trials they may be eligible for. Driving enrollment is especially vital, as trials that do not receive enough interest ultimately close, wasting time and money on promising treatments.

While these benefits may seem obvious, social media outreach remains in the infancy stages in terms of cancer research. The University of Southern California has recently explored the effectiveness of Twitter as a recruitment tool for clinical trials, while individual doctors have also experimented with similar outreach methods. The MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Dr. Cathy Eng, for example, receives direct messages from patients on Twitter, especially regarding questions about clinical enrollment.

Other social media-driven initiatives and groups include the Lung Cancer Social Media (#LCSM) and Breast Cancer Social Media (#BCSM) Twitter groups and the NRG Oncology Social Media Working Group.