Website visitors asking questions online to lung cancer specialists: what do they want to know?

Background: In 2003 the Dutch Lung Cancer Information Centre (Longkanker Informatie Centrum) launched a website containing information on lung cancer accessible to anyone.

Objective: Our study aim was to inventorize the information needs of the visitors of this website by analyzing the questions they asked the lung cancer specialists in the websites interactive section "Ask the Physician".

Methods: The first 2000 questions posted up until May 2006 have been classified by visitors' wish, type of required information, identity, gender, and phase during treatment course.