Quality and Reliability of Lung Cancer Treatment Short Videos on Chinese Social Media: A Cross-Sectional Analysis for Cancer Education Improvement (January 1, 2020-October 30, 2025).

[BACKGROUND] Short-form videos have become the common source of cancer information for Chinese patients and caregivers. We evaluated the content, quality, and reliability of lung cancer treatment videos on TikTok, Bilibili, and Kwai and generated evidence-based recommendations for cancer health education.

[METHODS] We conducted a cross-sectional study of lung cancer treatment short videos on TikTok, Bilibili, and Kwai. The top 200 most-liked videos per platform posted between January 1, 2020 and October 30, 2025, were retrieved on November 1, 2025. After screening, 300 videos (100 per platform) were analyzed. Two oncologists rated quality using GQS (1-5) and DISCERN (1-5); creator identity was classified. Comment sentiment (SnowNLP) and engagement metrics were analyzed.

[RESULTS] TikTok had the highest engagement and quality (GQS 3.0, DISCERN 3.0) versus Bilibili/Kwai (2.0) (p < 0.001). Professionals achieved the highest quality (GQS 3.0) versus institutions (1.0) (p < 0.001). However, absolute quality was low across all platforms: only 6% of videos met high-quality criteria (GQS ≥ 4), and 5% met DISCERN ≥ 4. Engagement showed a weak negative correlation with quality (ρ = -0.13 to -0.21).

[CONCLUSIONS] Overall quality is low; professional content is more reliable but less viral. Embedding quality indicators in algorithms and promoting certified creators could improve patient cancer education.