BMJ  2006;332:1095 (6 May), doi:10.1136/bmj.332.7549.1095-a

Letter

Policing of information from internet breast cancer list

Findings may not be generally applicable

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR—The article by Esquivel et al is misleading in some respects.1 Their findings result from internet correspondence between individuals about a common condition that is given a lot of webspace and media attention.

My own (anecdotal) experience shows that a vast amount of ignorance remains when rarer conditions are considered. Between 2001 and 2003 I attempted to recruit women with hypoadrenalism for a study looking into adrenal hormone replacement. As this condition is very rare, I resorted to advertising for subjects on two websites, those of self help groups for hypoadrenalism (after this had been approved by the ethics committee).

I managed to recruit sufficient numbers for the study but kept myself enrolled to check on progress among my volunteers until mid-2005. I was surprised to see the depth of inaccuracy and distinct lack of knowledge among the people who posted on the sites. I refused to be . . . [Full text of this article]

Ketan K Dhatariya, consultant endocrinologist

Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital NHS Trust, Norwich, Norfolk, NR4 7UY ketan.dhatariya@nnuh.nhs.uk


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Relevant Article

Accuracy and self correction of information received from an internet breast cancer list: content analysis
Adol Esquivel, Funda Meric-Bernstam, and Elmer V Bernstam
BMJ 2006 332: 939-942. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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