Lalovic Tamara, Lalovic Alexandar, Raju Priyanka
Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tower Health Reading Hospital, West Reading, USA.
Obstetrics and Gynecology, Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine, Lynchburg, USA.
Cureus. 2025 Apr 8;17(4):e81883. doi: 10.7759/cureus.81883. eCollection 2025 Apr.
TikTok is one of the biggest social media platforms where people look for support, seek advice, and educate themselves through videos created by other users. In today's world, people frequently turn to the internet for easy access to health and medical information; it is no surprise that TikTok has helped facilitate the creation of online support groups for those who are overcoming various illnesses and diseases. Breast cancer (BRCA) is worldwide the most common cancer in women, and while BRCA discussions on TikTok have been researched previously, discussions surrounding the BRCA susceptibility gene mutations have not. This study aims to explore content on TikTok related to BRCA mutations and assess its impact on public awareness and physician involvement. One hundred videos were watched on TikTok after searching "BRCA", BRCA1", or "BRCA2". These videos were categorized into groups based on content creator and type of content. The content included discussion regarding preventative measures with BRCA mutations, BRCA and BRCA mutation, ovarian cancer and BRCA mutation, and various treatment options. The videos were also evaluated based on the number of views each video received. This study found that healthcare workers participated in BRCA-related TikTok videos at only 2.3% of all evaluated videos; 97.4% were created by laypersons. Of those videos created by non-medical personnel, 17.3% were educational. The majority (49.3%) were centered around preventative measures and treatments undergone after a BRCA mutation diagnosis. The treatment modality most discussed was double mastectomy at 68%, with 41.3% of those videos being preventative double mastectomies without a current cancer diagnosis. The video with the most views was with regard to motherhood and BRCA prevention at 2.3 million views; 10.4% of the videos discussed difficulties with BRCA in motherhood. Overall, this study highlights the importance of physician involvement in social media platforms. It also showcases how medical providers can use TikTok to better understand patients' needs and discussions outside of the office with regard to their diagnosis.
TikTok是最大的社交媒体平台之一，人们在该平台上寻求支持、征求建议，并通过其他用户创作的视频进行自我学习。在当今世界，人们经常求助于互联网以方便获取健康和医学信息；TikTok帮助为那些正在战胜各种疾病的人创建在线支持小组也就不足为奇了。乳腺癌是全球女性中最常见的癌症，虽然之前已经对TikTok上关于乳腺癌的讨论进行了研究，但围绕乳腺癌易感基因突变的讨论尚未有过研究。本研究旨在探索TikTok上与BRCA突变相关的内容，并评估其对公众认知和医生参与度的影响。在TikTok上搜索“BRCA”“BRCA1”或“BRCA2”后观看了100个视频。这些视频根据内容创作者和内容类型进行分类。内容包括关于BRCA突变预防措施的讨论、BRCA与BRCA突变、卵巢癌与BRCA突变以及各种治疗选择。还根据每个视频的观看次数对视频进行了评估。本研究发现，医护人员仅参与了所有评估视频中2.3%的与BRCA相关的TikTok视频；97.4%是由外行人创作的。在那些由非医务人员创作的视频中，17.3%是具有教育意义的。大多数（49.3%）围绕BRCA突变诊断后的预防措施和治疗展开。讨论最多的治疗方式是双侧乳房切除术，占68%，其中41.3%的视频是在没有当前癌症诊断的情况下进行的预防性双侧乳房切除术。观看次数最多的视频是关于母亲身份与BRCA预防的，达到230万次观看；10.4%的视频讨论了母亲身份中与BRCA相关的困难。总体而言，本研究强调了医生参与社交媒体平台的重要性。它还展示了医疗服务提供者如何利用TikTok更好地了解患者的需求以及办公室外关于他们诊断的讨论。
