Understanding TikTok's Role in Young-Onset Colorectal Cancer Awareness and Education

The incidence of colorectal cancer (CRC) in younger adults has risen by about 1-2% annually in the past decade. TikTok has become a popular venue for the discussion of health information among young adults. This study analyzed the top 85 most-liked TikToks under the search terms "early colon cancer" and "young adult colon cancer," to evaluate their educational value. Data on the post uploader, content, analytics, and mentioned tips/symptoms were collected. Two independent researchers rated the quality of each video using a global quality score (GQS). The videos analyzed had a total of over 37 million views. Among them, 16.47% highlighted how misinformation contributed to delayed diagnoses, yet only 2.35% specifically educated viewers about such misinformation. Provider-posted content had higher GQS ratings than non-provider content (p < 0.05), indicating better quality, although total views were higher for non-provider content. The GQS did not differ significantly between highly viewed (> 100,000 views) and lower-viewed (<= 100,000 views) videos. Our results highlight that TikTok is a key platform for engaging young adults about rising CRC rates, though increased expert engagement is needed to address current gaps in combating misinformation and promoting high-quality educational content.