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Alireza Mansouri: Grok’s Analysis on Perceptions of Clinical Trials for Glioblastoma

Alireza Mansouri/LinkedIn

Jul 27, 2025, 18:12

Alireza Mansouri: Grok’s Analysis on Perceptions of Clinical Trials for Glioblastoma

Alireza Mansouri, Associate Professor at Penn State Health, shared a post on LinkedIn:

“As a fun experiment leveraging AI, I collaborated with Grok to conduct a sentiment analysis on perceptions of clinical trials for glioblastoma—a devastating brain cancer. Here’s the breakdown:
Original Request:

I wanted to explore what the general public and medical/scientific community think about clinical trials for glioblastoma via X (formerly Twitter) data. Focus on sentiment analysis, segmented by user type (general public vs. scientific/medical experts). Exclude pharmaceutical companies due to conflicts of interest and any promotional ads. Bonus: Generate word clouds for visual insights.

Methodology:

Utilizing Grok’s access to X’s semantic search, we gathered approximately 80 posts at random. Filters excluded ads and pharma-affiliated accounts. Sentiment was evaluated using a lexicon-based approach, scoring posts as positive (e.g., words like “breakthrough,” “hope”), negative (e.g., “futile,” “unethical”), or neutral/mixed. Users were classified based on profiles (e.g., bios indicating expertise). Word clouds were created from frequency counts of cleaned text, emphasizing top terms.

Key Results: The scientific community was more skeptical about trials than the general public!

General Public (55 posts): 65% positive, 20% negative, 15% neutral. Themes: High optimism from success stories in immunotherapy and mRNA vaccines; calls for more funding/access. Some skepticism on alternatives like diets.

Medical/Scientific Community (25 posts): 50% positive, 30% negative, 20% neutral. Themes: Praise for innovations (e.g., CAR-T therapies) but concerns over poor trial design, ethics, and lack of robust data. Overall, sentiment leans positive, fueled by recent breakthroughs, though scientists are more cautious about systemic challenges. Word clouds (visuals attached): Public emphasizes “hope” and “new”; scientists highlight “survival” and “unethical.”

This project showcases how AI like Grok can democratize research on critical health topics. What are your thoughts on improving glioblastoma trials? Let’s connect.”

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