2022 Study of Oncologists on Twitter (part 1)

We analyzed 2,000 tweets from oncologists on Twitter. Here's what we found. 🔍

May 14, 2022

In part 1 of our 2022 Study of Oncologists on Twitter, we discover what oncologists like to tweet about and how their tweets differ by specialty.

Part 2 is here.

Introduction
100 years ago, your HCPs read medical journals. Today, they're on social media. Posting, liking, tweeting and retweeting. And they are never going back.

Social media offers the quick, snackable content that HCPs prefer. It’s everywhere.

In this study, we look at how oncologists use Twitter. In future studies, we will look at LinkedIn, YouTube and others.

Methodology
In April 2022, we reviewed 20 of the most recent tweets from 100 oncologists (2,000 tweets in total). For each tweet, we recorded the topic, date and time. Next, we graphed the data and analyzed the results.

We looked at Twitter accounts from an array of oncologists. Thoracic, breast and gastrointestinal were the most common specialties.

Oncologists tweet differently by specialty
Head & Neck specialists were the most frequent tweeters of new drug and diagnostic approvals. More findings:

CNS and Head & Neck specialists tweeted most often about publications
Liquid tumor specialists were the biggest promoters of themselves and others
Sarcoma specialists tweeted the least often about non-medical topics

Head & Neck specialists were the most frequent tweeters of new drug approvals

Most tweets were about clinical studies and conferences
Oncologists love to tweet about scientific studies and research (29%).

Next popular topic is medical conferences (27%). Many of these tweets referenced seminars and lectures.

In particular, oncologists often tweeted about scientific posters or key slides. These tweets may help provide updates on a study that isn’t publicly available.

Oncologists love to tweet about scientific studies and medical conferences

Most publication-related tweets were about clinical studies
Almost 30% of the tweets were about publications. Of these tweets, 80% were linked to a clinical study. Other references included book chapters, opinion pieces or reviews (11%), medical news (6%), and treatment guidelines (2%).

These references are valuable because they reveal what oncologists are reading and discussing most often. References to treatment guidelines are especially valuable because they indicate potential opportunities.

80% of tweets about publications were linked to a clinical study

Oncologists tweet less often about new drugs
Tweets about new drugs or diagnostics only made up 3% of total tweets, but represent potentially valuable insights.

When reading tweets about drugs, check for positive terms such as "exciting," "impressive," "interesting," "practice changing" or "standard of care."

If an oncologist uses these terms, he or she may be a potential advocate. Consider reaching out for consulting, speaking or other partnership opportunities.