Testicular cancer and YouTube: What do you expect from a social media platform?

Abstract

To evaluate the quality information on testicular cancer uploaded on YouTube TM videos. Methods: YouTube TM videos were searched using "Testicular cancer" as a keyword. The Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool, the Misinformation scale, and the DISCERN tool were used to assess the quality information of YouTube TM videos on testicular cancer. Results: According to the selection criteria, 121 YouTube TM videos were collected for the analysis and stratified according to uploading year (2009-2014 vs 2015-2020). According to the Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool for audio-visual content, the overall Understandability score was 60% (interquartile range 45.5-75) and the overall Actionability score was 100% (interquartile range 66.7-100). According to the Misinformation scale, the lowest median was recorded for item 6 ("Effects on fertility") and the overall median Misinformation score was 2 (interquartile range 1.3-2.8). No statistically significant differences were observed according to uploading year (all P > 0.05). Of all, only 54 (44.6%) videos mentioning treatment were subsequently analyzed. Of these videos, the overall Understandability was 71.4% (interquartile range 56.3-84.6) and the overall Actionability was 100% (interquartile range 66.7-100). The overall Misinformation score was 2.8 (interquartile range 2.2-3.5). The median DISCERN score recorded for question 16 was 5 (interquartile range 3-5). Conclusions: YouTube TM is a fast and open-access source for mass information. The overall quality of the testicular cancer contents provided is sadly unsatisfactory, in the present likewise in the past. However, YouTube TM videos mentioning treatment options showed higher quality content, than the remaining one. Nevertheless, all the videos analyzed underestimated the testicular cancer effects on fertility. Nowadays, YouTube TM cannot be recommended as a reliable source of information on testicular cancer.

Could YouTubeTM encourage men on prostate checks? A contemporary analysis

“…To the best of our knowledge, no studies on DRE were found in the literature. Previous studies analyzed YouTube™ videos' quality on urological (20,21,(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30) and non-urological topics (31,32), highlighting a diffuse inaccuracy. No previous investigators evaluated YouTube™ videos' quality on DRE as a tool for patients' information.…”

Reply to a letter to the editor regarding the published article: “YouTube™ as a source of information on bladder pain syndrome: A contemporary analysis”

“…In this regard, our research group has developed several papers with similar methodology aimed at systematically investigating the contents of the videos uploaded on YouTube™ concerning several urological topics. [7][8][9][10][11][12][13] In conclusion, in an era where patients, as well as physicians, look for medical information on the Internet, it is necessary to produce high-quality content to provide an important and reliable tool for the decision-making process.…”

Editorial Comment to Testicular cancer and YouTube: What do you expect from a social media platform?

“…The important real-world study by Di Bello and colleagues makes us realize as an urological community that patients' education regarding cancer awareness such as testicular cancer still needs to be improved. 1 Especially, since in COVID-19 pandemic times, it could have been demonstrated that patients try to avoid hospital visitings as well as our urological clinics, low patient education in combination with pandemic times may lead to a stage migration toward more advanced stages in a rapid metastasizing tumor such as testicular cancer, as observed for prostate cancer. [2][3][4][5] Unfortunately, the authors of the current study thus show us that we urologists must increasingly try to inform young people on social media platforms and ensure the necessary quality of education to avoid misinterpretation, false information, and worse oncological outcomes.…”

“…The important real‐world study by Di Bello and colleagues makes us realize as an urological community that patients' education regarding cancer awareness such as testicular cancer still needs to be improved 1 . Especially, since in COVID‐19 pandemic times, it could have been demonstrated that patients try to avoid hospital visitings as well as our urological clinics, low patient education in combination with pandemic times may lead to a stage migration toward more advanced stages in a rapid metastasizing tumor such as testicular cancer, as observed for prostate cancer 2–5 .…”