Four out of five participants in cancer clinical trials are white, a discrepancy that calls into question whether other races and ethnicities are receiving good cancer treatment, researchers say.
Women and the elderly also are underrepresented in clinical trials, according to the new findings.
Prior studies have shown that the effectiveness of cancer treatment can vary based on a person’s race, gender and age, said lead researcher Dr. Narjust Florez.
Despite this, clinical trials have failed to successfully recruit a diverse patient population upon whom to test new drugs and therapies, said Dr. Florez, the Associate Director of the Cancer Care Equity Program at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
“All the data we’re using to guide cancer treatment is for one type of patient,” she said.
Dr. Florez undertook this study after a conversation with a black lung cancer patient about possible chemotherapy treatments.
“He asked, ‘Where are the numbers about me?'” Dr. Florez recalled. “Where are the numbers about African-Americans? What are the chances we respond to treatment?”
A cursory look at chemotherapy research revealed that only a handful of blacks had been included in clinical trials involving hundreds of people, Dr. Florez said.
