We Cannot Afford to Ignore the Lack of Ethnic Diversity in Clinical Trials

The importance of diversity in clinical trials cannot be emphasized enough – yet progress isn’t being made nearly as quickly as needed.

Recent research shows that the levels of patients enrolling in a clinical trial as a first form of treatment for cancer in the US is just 0.1% and this is predominantly made up of White men with private insurance.

A ProPublica analysis found that in trials for 24 of the 31 cancer drugs approved since 2015, fewer than 5% of Black patients were enrolled. Yet, African Americans make up 13.4% of the US population.

Sadly, these statistics don’t surprise me. Ethnic groups have been underrepresented for as long as I can remember. This is a huge problem. Drugs can work differently depending on factors like sex or ethnicity, meaning people from different ethnic groups and genders may respond in hugely different ways to the same drug. But if there’s a lack of diversity in clinical trials, how will we ever know?

Stand Up to Cancer Moves to Make Trials More Diverse

Teckro is used by more than 7,000 oncology sites worldwide and I recently wrote about Teckro’s goal to revolutionize clinical trials to help beat cancer on World Cancer Day. Therefore, I welcomed the news that Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) have announced a ground-breaking new initiative to increase ethnic representation in clinical trials. All future SU2C-supported grant proposals will now be required to address how the research will consider ethnic diversity when it comes to recruiting and retaining patients.

The move comes just a few months after the FDA announced a new focus on enhancing clinical trial diversity. These bold new developments force us in the industry to adapt, learn best practices and work to ensure the clinical trial population is a true representation of society. After all, diversity is crucial for safer, more effective medicines, so that researchers, regulatory bodies and patients are confident that a drug or therapy will reach the communities they’ll serve best.

Here are a few more suggestions I have to help make clinical trials more ethnically diverse:

• Make participation easier. Currently time and travel commitments mean that taking part in trials is difficult for participants. By making trials more accessible, it will be easier to recruit from a wider variety of backgrounds. By using digital and virtual clinical trials, patients located further afield could be reached and the burden could be minimized by conducting some aspects of the trial remotely. Wearables, smartphones and tablets could also make participation more convenient.

• Build trust. For more ethnic communities to be engaged in clinical research, there needs to be improved relationship building and a better sense of partnership. Patients need to trust the research process, as well as the healthcare professionals involved and – it should go without saying – be treated with respect for their role in the trial. This can be achieved by having specific teams from local communities onsite to understand cultural sensitivities. As a result, more diverse clinical research communities will be built, leading to a more varied pool of participants.

• Improve awareness. Many potential participants don’t even know that clinical trials exist! The research community could change this by reaching out to local physicians to increase awareness of clinical trials. Resources could be provided to help them discuss the benefits with patients. In my previous blogs, I’ve mentioned how important it is to make the clinical trial process more convenient for physicians. And because physicians are typically short on time, they may not even be that knowledgeable about clinical trials themselves.
  
  
• Increase education. Driving better understanding of clinical trials is an essential element when it comes to participation from a wider group. Providing proper education (using culturally appropriate materials) is a way to assist further understanding. And this goes beyond physicians handing out a few leaflets, ideally there would be strong local publicity campaigns – even nationwide conversations about the importance of ethnic diversity in clinical trials. Ambitious? Definitely. But a future of safer drugs, more efficient medication and lives saved, is one worth fighting for.