Cancer cure and survival rates continue to improve due to decades of groundbreaking research; yet not all Americans benefit equally from these advances. Only 4 to 6 percent of cancer research trial participants are Black and 3 to 6 percent are Hispanic, though they represent 15 percent and 13 percent of all patients with cancer, respectively. Penn Medicine’s Abramson Cancer Center is one exception, with rates of minority representation in clinical trials that match community demographics. Yet there is work to do across the country to make similar improvements.
A new national effort to increase clinical trial participation by minority populations is being co-led by Randall Oyer, MD, medical director of Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health’s Ann B. Barshinger Cancer Institute, and Lori Pierce, MD, president of the Association of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).
Oyer serves as president of the Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC), which has joined forces with ASCO to address this important disparity.
“We recognize that there are complex forces and systems that have created disparities in cancer research and that solving these problems will take a multifaceted, integrated approach reflecting the best current thinking and expertise from the entire cancer community,” Oyer said. “By working together, we can significantly extend the reach of this effort and help ensure that we pursue promising strategies that have a lasting and meaningful impact.”
Oyer’s national work aligns with LG Health’s expansion of cancer treatment trials for all people receiving care through the Ann B. Barshinger Cancer Institute and the Abramson Cancer Center in Philadelphia.