Medical News

Although multiple myeloma cannot be cured, treatments are available to help improve symptoms and manage quality of life. However, while treatments can help control the disease, mortality remains a concern for patients with multiple myeloma and their healthcare providers. Little research has been conducted on end-of-life care for multiple myeloma patients. This retrospective population-based cohort...

African Americans tend to have a higher risk of developing multiple myeloma at an earlier age and a higher risk of death than whites. While certain factors, such as socioeconomic status and access to care, can affect the outcomes of multiple myeloma, there’s no question that genetic mutations may also play a significant role in...

Given the troubled history of Black Americans in previous clinical studies, such as the Tuskegee syphilis study, it is not surprising that Black Americans may feel a sense of lingering mistrust in clinical trials and medical research. Despite the increased risk and aggressive nature of prostate cancer in Black patients compared to white patients, a...

The development and outcomes of prostate cancer can be significantly affected by multiple factors, such as genetic, socioeconomic, and environmental factors. Given this multifactorial approach to prostate cancer, disaggregating the available data on racial and ethnic subgroups is vital to pinpoint disparities in treatment status and diagnosis. In particular, Hispanic subpopulations with metastatic prostate cancer...

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...

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...

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,...

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...

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...