Evaluating the quality and reliability of short videos about tongue cancer on TikTok: A cross-sectional study
Yixin Sun, Yunyan Lin, Shuai Wang, Yuchen Li, Hongjian ZhangObjectives
Short video platforms have become the main channel for the public to obtain information about cancer. In recent years, TikTok has gradually become an important source of health information for Chinese patients. This study aims to assess the content, quality and reliability of videos related to tongue cancer on the Tiktok platform.
Methods
From November 11 to 12, 2025, we searched for “tongue cancer” on TikTok platform. Based on the filtering criteria, collect information for the videos that meet the requirements. The global quality score (GQS) and the modified DISCERN (mDISCERN) were used to evaluate the quality and reliability of the videos. Finally, a spearman correlation analysis was conducted on all the indicators of the videos.
Results
This analysis included 79 videos. The duration of the videos is relatively short, with a median of 85.00 (IQR: 45.00, 127.50), but the interaction indicators are relatively high. The symptoms and treatment were mentioned more frequently, while the topics of epidemiology, etiology, diagnosis and prevention were mentioned less. The GQS score of the videos uploaded by the doctors was significantly higher, with a median of 4.00 (IQR: 3.00, 4.00), compared to videos uploaded by individual users 1.50 (IQR: 1.00, 2.00). The trend of the mDISCERN score was similar. The GQS and mDISCERN scores of videos uploaded by doctors are higher than those of individual uploaders.
Conclusion
TikTok videos on tongue cancer are short but highly engaging. Videos uploaded by doctors have higher quality and reliability than those by individual users. Symptoms and treatment are covered more than epidemiology, etiology, diagnosis, and prevention. Therefore, increasing the number of videos uploaded by doctors is crucial for improving the quality and reliability of videos on the TikTok platform.