Upon starting their day, most people have already habitually checked their phones several times, scanning messages, reviewing calendars, and checking sleep scores. Smartphones have become so embedded in modern life that they now function as personal assistants, fitness coaches, and social hubs all at once.
Healthcare has increasingly followed that migration onto the screen. Today, more than 350,000 mobile health apps are available for public download. For patients with cancer, these tools could offer invaluable support navigating their fatigue, anxiety, and even improving adherence to complicated medication schedules. Yet despite the rapid expansion of digital health technologies, most oncology apps have not been rigorously developed or tested, and few have scientific evidence supporting their utility or effectiveness.
Previous studies have found that many patients with cancer hold positive attitudes toward mobile health technologies and say they would be willing to download and use an app if it were recommended by their healthcare provider. But much less is known about how oncology providers themselves view these tools. A new national survey led by Dr. Nancy Lau, a clinical psychologist at Seattle Children’s Hospital and Assistant Professor at the University of Washington School of Medicine, suggests that many providers may be increasingly ready to integrate mobile health apps into routine cancer care.
The survey was developed by a research team that included experts in oncology, psychology, social work, behavioral medicine, and digital health, from across multiple institutions. “Many members of our interdisciplinary team are part of the Cancer Consortium, which has facilitated fruitful collaborations on this and other projects,” said Lau.
In total, 188 oncology providers responded. Participants included a relatively even mix of medical providers, who primarily focus on disease management and physiological symptoms, and psychosocial providers, who focus on the psychological, emotional, and social dimensions of the cancer experience.
Across specialties, providers expressed a ubiquitous openness toward mobile health technologies. All respondents endorsed mobile health apps as potentially useful or beneficial for patients in some capacity and nearly all respondents (94.7%) reported recommending or using at least one mobile health app with patients. The most commonly used tools were telehealth and virtual consultation platforms, as well as apps that facilitated communication with the medical team.
Providers also saw potential for these technologies to extend far beyond logistics. Psychosocial providers in particular were likely to recommend apps that help patients manage pain, support mental health, and improve sleep—areas where day-to-day symptoms often unfold far from the clinic and can be hard to track, let alone manage, in brief appointments.
Many respondents agreed that mobile health tools can expand the range of services they offer, reduce travel burdens, and improve cost-effectiveness for both patients and health systems, potentially easing access for people juggling work, caregiving, and intensive treatment schedules.
In terms of clinical implications, the study points to what the authors describe as a “readiness gap” in oncology. While most mobile health tools are currently used for communication and telehealth visits, providers across specialties expressed strong interest in using them to support more holistic care, with interventions that address not only tumors and lab values but also the emotional, behavioral, and social challenges of living with cancer.
The study suggests that this is an opportunity to rethink how mobile health apps are integrated into oncology care, with enthusiasm that appears to cut across provider roles and patient populations. For that shift to happen, future work will need to do more than simply show that that apps “work”. It will also need to involve clinicians directly in designing and implementing these tools so they are clinically appropriate and useful, grounded in evidence, and accessible to a wide range of patients.
Fred Hutch/University of Washington/Seattle Children’s Cancer Consortium Members Drs. Nancy Lau, Sherilynn Chan, Mallory Taylor, Jesse Fann, and Eric Chow contributed to this research.
The spotlighted research was funded by the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health.
Lau N, Srinakarin K, Hong SJH, Aalfs H, Roth ME, Ingram KM, Berkman A, Chan S, Patten J, Iwata W, Taylor MR, Fann JR, Chow EJ, and Palermo TM. 2026. Mobile Health App Attitudes and Adoption Among Oncology Providers: Cross-Sectional National Survey. Journal of Medical Internet Research. DOI: 10.2196/85583
Science Spotlight writer Thamiya Vasanthakumar is a postdoctoral research fellow in the Campbell Lab at Fred Hutch. As a structural biologist, she uses cryogenic electron microscopy (cryoEM) to visualize the molecular structures of receptors found on the surface of immune cells.