Altmetric insights into what makes a medical publication impactful

What defines the impact of a medical research publication? The journal in which it was published? Number of citations? Altmetric score? Or perhaps its social media reach? Or reach to patients and/or clinicians? Or the sentiment towards the publication? What about policy/clinical guideline mentions? 

In a recent podcast, Mike Taylor (Head of Data Insights, Altmetric, part of Digital Science), Carrie Brubaker (Medical  Affairs Consultant), and Carlos Areia (Senior Data Scientist, Altmetric, part of Digital Science) tackled these questions and addressed the varied perspectives of what success and impact of a publication might look like. Their discussion highlighted the Top Interesting Industry Affiliated 2024 publications, and gave insights into why each made the list. Publications were selected for excelling in at least one unique metric, demonstrating how Altmetric data can capture and highlight different signals. Here we highlight selected standout publications that our experts discussed in the podcast. To discover the full list of interesting papers, be sure to listen to this episode titled “Top 10 Most Interesting Publications of 2024.” 

Top Sentiment among healthcare professionals

• Clinicians: Lorlatinib Versus Crizotinib for lung cancer patients. The CROWN study showed lorlatinib’s superior progression-free survival, earning widespread approval among clinicians.
• Nurses: Multimodal, technology-assisted intervention for the management of menopause after cancer. A multimodal intervention study for post-cancer menopause symptoms stood out for its high nurse sentiment. 

Top Altmetric Score by publication type

• Peer-reviewed clinical publication: Blood biomarkers to detect Alzheimer’s. This study underscored how groundbreaking diagnostic tools can capture outstanding social media and news attention.
• Preprint popularity: Persistence of S1 spike protein in SARS-CoV-2 negative post COVID-19 vaccination individuals. This preprint showed how timely, provocative topics can achieve impressive preprint Altmetric scores through intense social media discussions.

• Top active clinical trial: mRNA cancer vaccine KEYNOTE-942. This trial achieved an Altmetric score far exceeding its related Lancet publication, thanks to a surge in X activity and news coverage. 

Publications with unexpected impact

• Policy citations: CRISPR gene therapy for sickle cell disease. Published in April 2024, it accrued an impressive 5 policy mentions to date.
• Patent citations: Liposomal Eribulin studies. Two papers on liposomal Eribulin (Phase 2 Study of the Liposomal Formulation of Eribulin (E7389-LF) in Combination with Nivolumab: Results from the Small Cell Lung Cancer Cohort; Phase 2 Study of the Liposomal Formulation of Eribulin (E7389-LF) in Combination with Nivolumab: Results from the Gastric Cancer Cohort) combined with immunotherapy were cited in patents quickly after publication, showcasing the rapid interaction between research, innovation and intellectual property.
• Top publication in rare disease: Tabelecleucel for Post-Transplant Lymphoproliferative Disease. This niche study excelled in rare disease coverage, emphasizing the role of strategic communication in broadening the conversation beyond the condition to innovative therapies like off-the-shelf T-cell treatments.
• Top publication with extenders: Elinzanetant for menopause symptoms. This study achieved significant news coverage, aided by strong media engagement and high-profile interviews. (More insights on publication extenders here: The advent of publication extenders for healthcare professionals)
• Top underdog: Ganfeborole for tuberculosis. Breaking the usual inclusion rules, this tuberculosis treatment study reflected Altmetric’s ability to elevate critical but underappreciated topics. 

To see all the top papers head over to the Top 10 Most “Interesting” Publications of 2024 on the Medical Affairs Professional Society website.

If you are interested in learning more about Altmetric Attention Scores or other aspects of Altmetric, contact our friendly team.