ArticleCureus2025
Paging Dr. Google: Characterizing Direct-to-Consumer Digital Advertisements From Oncology Treatment Centers.
Article in Cureus, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
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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.
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.
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Who cites it
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeThis study aims to examine the characteristics and accreditations of medical centers with the highest utilization of direct-to-consumer (DTC) marketing based on Google search advertisements. Methods: A total of 817 paid advertisements from 360 simulated Google searches from the 30 most populous U.S. cities were analyzed. They were categorized into National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated, Commission on Cancer (CoC) accredited, non-CoC accredited, and non-traditional treatment centers and analyzed based on city, region, and search term. Results: Of the cancer treatment center advertisements analyzed, 51.2% were for NCI centers, 12.2% for CoC accredited centers, 26.9% for non-CoC accredited centers, and 9.7% for non-traditional centers. There was significant geographic variation, with the highest percentage of NCI advertisements appearing for the search phrase "best cancer doctor" (74.4%). The majority of NCI centers had no advertisements (59.2%), while two of the centers monopolized the NCI advertisements (80.2%). Non-traditional treatment centers showed significant geographic variation, representing 0-38% of search results. Conclusion: The study reveals a significant presence of NCI-designated cancer centers in the digital DTC marketing space, with substantial regional variations and a disproportionate number of advertisements from a minority of cancer centers.
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