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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2018 Sep 21.
Published in final edited form as: Cell Chem Biol. 2017 Sep 21;24(9):1075–1091. doi: 10.1016/j.chembiol.2017.08.002

Figure 2. Aggregating Patients with Rare Cancers Via Social Media Platforms.

Figure 2

Social media platforms, such as Facebook, are a vehicle to connect patients with rare cancers. Depicted are eight cancer types that are exceedingly rare, typically precluding well-powered studies at any one institution. However, there now exists at least one Facebook group relevant to each cancer type (right, in orange). Membership in these Facebook groups sometimes exceeds the number of new cases of the disease per year in the US (left, in blue). While members may not all be patients living with disease, these groups reflect disease-specific communities that are coalescing via online platforms and may translate to increased access to patients for research studies. Number of new cases per year in the US is based on the current estimated US population (321 million). Facebook data were accessed on July 2, 2017; group numbers are subject to change.