In oncology, the number of biomarker-driven treatment decisions is fast growing and becoming increasingly important as new allied treatment options become available. Helping HCPs navigate the new data and changing complex landscape is critical for better outcomes .

In 2021, there were over 17 updates to the clinical guidelines on how to treat breast, prostate and ovarian cancer. Meaning to keep up-to-date, Oncologists would have to read ~178 articles every day.

“…every month new data is pointing us towards unique patient populations - it’s becoming harder to understand why one biomarker is more important than another? - Community Medical Oncologist

With best practice always changing, time-poor HCP’s face information overload.

As a result, 52% of community Oncologists don’t optimally use biomarker testing to inform treatment.

The brief? How can we simplify the scientific story on the importance and value of biomarker testing to get personalised cancer treatment to patients faster.

A simple narrative using a recognisable metaphor that visually communicates the value of biomarker testing – Mapping the Tumor.

Just as a map tells us about a landscape, biomarker testing can tell us about a tumor. We map landscapes to understand how to traverse them. When we map the tumor landscape, it gives us insight into how best to navigate disease management, and what treatment options will put that patient on the best path.

Mapping the Tumor marries the science behind tumour biology and biomarker informed care with beautiful artistic craft and specific use of the geologic metaphor to augment audience comprehension and memorability. Working with a cross-disciplinary team, we crafted 3 distinct tumor maps. Each one likened features such as BRCA mutations to fault lines, forming disruptions under the surface that effect the landscape above. Or how river deltas act like hormone receptors, feeding the landscape.

From 300 Oncologists surveyed and 30 patients interviewed – it’s clear the greatest educational gap was with community-based Medical Oncologists that treat patients across cancer types.

Of the 13,350 US Medical Oncologists, over 70% of them treat more than one type of cancer.

These physicians are the face of patient care and education, but only spend on average ~16min with their patients.

“…in most cases, I may only have 60 seconds to explain why we’re doing this [biomarker testing]” - Medical Oncologist

76% of our target audience are over 40 and have ingrained educational preferences. Physicians have always used metaphors to explain complicated science and 85% of patients agree it’s useful.

With this in mind, we aimed to create a simplified disease metaphor that credibly educated physicians and can additionally be used directly with patients – all with the aim of increasing biomarker testing rates to increase the usage of biomarker-driven treatments.

Working with OncLive – the largest news and educational platform for the Oncology Specialty Group in the US – a bespoke microsite was created as a central hub for the campaign.

For US Oncologists, over 60% access 'non-pharma websites for a HCP audience' every week vs 21% 'disease information websites from a pharma company'. So it was critical to work with a trusted and highly-respected source of information independent from the Pharma client to drive credibility and engagement with the campaign.

We distilled hours of learning into a concise and visually captivating educational ecosystem. The microsite hosts over 15 educational tools, across 3 tumor-types and 4 different biomarkers including interactive HCP materials, in-clinic patient conversation aids, and test-yourself patient case studies.

A multichannel launch approach was employed to drive awareness and engagement with the campaign – this included oncology congress activation, organic & paid social via Twitter, direct-to-subscriber outreach and

In its first month, Mapping the Tumor reached nearly 10,000 US healthcare professionals.

Of those, 1,311 Medical Oncologists engaged with the Mapping the Tumor microsite - meaning 1 in 10 of the entire US workforce, who are responsible for an estimated 107,502 patients, engaged with the educational materials.

By creatively reimagining medical education, the campaign achieved -

• 5x higher email click-through rate than industry average

• 64% higher microsite engagement time than the OncLive average

Overall Mapping the Tumor contributed to a 12% increase in belief that all patients should receive comprehensive biomarker testing at diagnosis. As a result, clinical behaviours shifted, and patients receiving key biomarker tests across breast, ovarian, prostate cancer increased by over 11%.