by Lori Solomon

White women are disproportionately represented in clinical trials for gynecologic cancers, according to a study published online Dec. 7 in JAMA Network Open.

Wafa Khadraoui, M.D., from The Ohio State University in Columbus, and colleagues examined the association of race and ethnicity with clinical trial enrollment among women with endometrial, ovarian, or cervical cancer. The analysis included data the National Cancer Database and the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program. Data were from 562,592 patients with gynecologic cancer diagnosed from 2004 to 2019.

The researchers found that compared with White women, clinical trial enrollment was lower for Asian (odds ratio [OR], 0.44), Black (OR, 0.70), and Hispanic (OR, 0.53) women. White women were adequately or overrepresented for all cancer types compared with the U.S. population (participation-to-prevalence ratio [PPR] ≥1.1). Black women were adequately or overrepresented for endometrial and cervical cancers (PPRs ≥1.1) but underrepresented for ovarian cancer (PPR ≤0.6). Asian and Hispanic women were underrepresented among all three cancer types (PPRs ≤0.6).

"These findings suggest that efforts to engage women with gynecologic cancer who are from minoritized racial and ethnic groups are needed to increase their representation in clinical trials," the authors write.

One author disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical industry.

More information: Wafa Khadraoui et al, Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Clinical Trial Enrollment Among Women With Gynecologic Cancer, JAMA Network Open (2023). DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.46494

Journal information: JAMA Network Open 

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