June 6, 2022
Racial Disparities in Prostate Cancer Clinical Trials
A lack of access to health care and treatment, brought about by socioeconomic and environmental factors, can impact the observed racial disparities in prostate cancer. While clinical trials open the doors to novel therapeutics targeted toward improving the survival of men with prostate cancer, an underrepresentation of racial groups could mean decreased insights into potential...
Why Blacks With Multiple Myeloma Are Lacking in Clinical Trials
Multiple myeloma can affect different racial groups in different ways, especially since clinical trials are often skewed without equal representation. For example, around 20% of people affected by multiple myeloma are Black, but only 6% of participants in multiple myeloma clinical trials are Black. This study, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology for the 2022 ASCO...
Racial Disparities in Metastatic Breast Cancer
As of 2021, breast cancer was the most common cancer around the globe. It is estimated that around 1 in 8 American women will be affected by breast cancer at some point in their lives. The prognosis for breast cancer is generally favorable if caught early, with a 5-year survival rate of around 90%. However,...
ASCO 2022 Highlights Breast Cancer Clinical Trial Disparities
Photo by © ASCO/Todd Buchanan 2022. Written and edited by Lauren Weinand, M.D. Equity: Every Day. Every Patient. Everywhere. That was the theme of last year’s ASCO annual meeting. The 2022 ASCO Annual Meeting theme—advancing equitable care through innovation—is similarly focused on equity. For ASCO, health equity is not only a theme of its annual...
Understanding the Lack of Black Patients in Breast Cancer Trials
Approximately 15% of cancer patients in the United States are Black, but only up to 6% of participants in clinical trials are Black. In addition, patients with metastatic breast cancer who are Black often face worse survival rates than other groups of people. So how can this discrepancy be addressed? In this study, published in...
Enhancing Combinational Therapy for R/R Hodgkin Lymphoma
Treatment options for classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) have expanded to the use of multiple chemotherapy drugs that have increased 5-year survival rates to approximately 90%. However, 20-30% of treated patients will experience progression or relapse of the disease at some point after treatment [1]. Disease progression or relapse is often dealt with through the use...