Novartis is using YouTube to broadcast a new talk show about advanced breast cancer as part of its ongoing disease awareness efforts in the area.

The first episode of its Each Voice Counts talk show series features four women sharing their stories of life with the condition.

Novartis' key product in the area is Afinitor (everolimus), which gained European approval for advanced breast cancer in July, just days after US regulators passed it for the same indication.

The Each Voice Counts talk show follows the re-launch last week of Novartis' global AdvancedBreastCancerCommunity.org website.

The website is a collaboration between Novartis and Inspire, which builds and manages online support communities for patients and carers.

Advanced Breast Cancer Community offers a 'clearing house' of tailored information, covering topics such as creating a personal care plan and metastasis and recurrence.

Novartis' use of YouTube for videos in a talk show format, though unusual, is not unique, and has echoes of the Johnson & Johnson's employee video series ennTV, which debuted in April and the New Way RA talk show it began in 2009.