Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34722938›Full record

ArticleClinical and translational radiation oncology2021

#radonc: Growth of the global radiation oncology Twitter network.

Arpan V Prabhu, Sushil Beriwal, Wasim Ahmed, Varun Ayyaswami, Richard Simcock, Matthew S Katz

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Clinical and translational radiation oncology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
0.5field-weighted citation impact, top 29% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 6 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. From radiation beams to digital streams: social media engagement of German radiotherapy facilities.Strahlentherapie und Onkologie : Organ der Deutschen Rontgengesellschaft ... [et al] · 2026
    Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 6 institutions in 2 countries.

Arpan V PrabhuUAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, USA.
Sushil BeriwalAllegheny Health Network Academic Chief, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Wasim AhmedDepartment of Marketing, Operations and Systems, Newcastle University Business School, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
Varun AyyaswamiUniversity of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA.
Richard SimcockSussex Cancer Centre, Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust, Brighton, UK.
Matthew S KatzLowell General Hospital, Lowell, MA, USA.
Lowell General Hospital · USNewcastle University · GBUniversity Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust · GBUniversity of Arkansas for Medical Sciences · USUniversity of Massachusetts Chan Medical School · USVarian Medical Systems (United States) · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionSocial media connects people globally and may enhance access to radiation oncology information. We characterized the global growth of the radiation oncology Twitter community using the hashtag #radonc. MATERIALS AND

methodsWe analyzed all public tweets bearing the hashtag #radonc from 2014 to 2019 using Symplur Signals. We collected data on #radonc activity and growth, stakeholder distribution, user geolocation, and languages. We obtained global Twitter user data and calculated average annual growth rates for users and tweets. We analyzed growth rates by stakeholder. We conducted thematic analysis on a sample of tweets in each three-year period using frequently occurring two-word combinations.

resultsWe identified 193,115 tweets including #radonc composed by 16,645 Twitter users. Globally, users wrote in 35 languages and came from 122 countries, with the known highest users from the United States, United Kingdom, and Spain. Use of #radonc expanded from 23 countries in 2014 to 116 in 2019. The average annual growth rate in #radonc users and tweets was 70.5% and 69.2%, respectively. The annual growth rate of #radonc users was significantly higher than for all Twitter users (

conclusionUse of #radonc has grown rapidly into a global community. Focused discussion related to radiation oncology has outpaced the growth of general Twitter use, both among physicians and non-physicians. #radonc has grown into a self-sustaining community. Further research is necessary to define the risks and benefits of social media in medicine and to determine whether it adds value to oncology practice.

Indexed as

Global radiation oncologyInternetNodeXLRadiation oncologistRadiation therapy#radoncSocial mediaSymplurTweetsTwitter

Identifiers

PMID34722938
PMCPMC8531755
OpenAlexW3203150283

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.