JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Genetic testing is increasingly important in prostate cancer (PCA) care, with impact on PCA management and hereditary cancer risk, particularly for BRCA1/2 mutations. However, the extent to which the public discusses these topics on social media is unknown, which may hinder population-level uptake of advances in precision medicine.

Objective:

To characterize activity and engagement across multiple social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube) regarding BRCA and genetic testing for PCA compared to breast cancer.

Methods:

Symplur Signals online analytics platform was used to obtain all tweets in 2018 about #BRCA and #breastcancer, #BRCA and #prostatecancer, #genetictesting and #breastcancer, and #genetictesting and #prostatecancer. We examined the total number of tweets, users and reach for each hashtag, and performed content analysis for a subset of tweets. Facebook and YouTube were queried using analogous search terms, and engagement metrics were calculated.

Results:

During a one-year period, there were 3566 tweets for #BRCA and #breastcancer, versus 221 about #BRCA and #prostatecancer. There were also more tweets about #genetictesting and #breastcancer (418), compared to #genetic testing and #prostatecancer (92). Tweets about genetic testing and BRCA in breast cancer also had substantially greater reach than those about PCA. Sharing the link to an article was the most common type of tweet and misinformation was rare. Facebook groups and pages regarding PCA and BRCA/genetic testing had fewer average members, new members, and new posts, as well as fewer likes and followers, compared to breast cancer. Facebook videos had more engagement than YouTube videos across both PCA and breast cancer content.

Conclusions:

There is substantially less social media engagement about BRCA and genetic testing in PCA compared to breast cancer. This landscape analysis provides insights into strategies for leveraging social media platforms to increase public awareness of PCA germline testing.