Michael A. Thompson, MD, PhD

In this interview we discuss the dissemination of research results, clinical trials, and other oncology news using social media, as well as what type of media oncologists use, and how useful and relevant this type of information is for most oncologists.

We presented an interactive session entitled “Using Social Media in Oncology for Education and Patient Engagement” at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2012 Annual Meeting. This article summarizes the points made in those presentations.

The surge in availability of apps for every possible purpose is not limited to Apple but has also occurred with apps for the BlackBerry, for Google's Android platform, and for a number of other devices. The authors discuss their experience with apps that are relevant, directly or indirectly, to the oncology practice for both the iPhone and Android smartphones.