MONDAY, Nov. 22, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Black and Hispanic patients remain underrepresented in cancer trials, despite increased participation from 2015 to 2019, according to a study published online Nov. 22 in Cancer.
Juan Javier-DesLoges, M.D., from the University of California in La Jolla, and colleagues evaluated patients in breast, colorectal, lung, and prostate cancer trials from 2000 to 2019 to examine representation determined by race/ethnicity, sex, and age. The change in trial participation was assessed comparing 2000 through 2004 and 2015 through 2019.
The cohort included 242,720 participants: 81.3, 8.7, 4.8, and 2.8 percent were non-Hispanic White, Black, Hispanic, and Asian/Pacific Islander, respectively. The researchers found that between 2015 and 2019, Black and Hispanic patients were underrepresented for trials for colorectal (odds ratios, 0.58 and 0.74), lung (odds ratios, 0.83 and 0.66), and prostate cancer (odds ratios, 0.85 and 0.58). In 2015 to 2019, the odds of participation increased among Black patients in trials for breast, lung, and prostate cancer (odds ratios, 2.19, 1.54, and 1.14, respectively). Among Hispanic patients, the odds of participation in a trial increased for breast, colorectal, lung, and prostate cancer (odds ratios, 3.32, 2.46, 3.88, and 1.70, respectively).
“Our findings indicate a need for further study into successful recruitment strategies of these underrepresented populations,” the authors write.
Several authors disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.
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