Increasing Racial and Ethnic Diversity in Cancer Clinical Trials: An American Society of Clinical Oncology and Association of Community Cancer Centers Joint Research Statement | Journal of Clinical Oncology

• Amanda Bridges
• August 9, 2022
• Diversity & Inclusion

The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) released two new resources to help research sites increase racial and ethnic equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in cancer clinical trials with publication of an article in The Journal of Clinical Oncology that detailed six overarching recommendations for improving EDI in cancer clinical trials. 

The Just ASK™ Increasing Diversity in Cancer Clinical Research: An ACCC-ASCO Training Program (Just ASK™ Training Program), and the ASCO-ACCC Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Research Site Self-Assessment (Site Self-Assessment) are available free of charge, online. The Just ASK™ will also help to address implicit bias. 

Studies have found that implicit bias reduces the likelihood of clinicians offering clinical trials to racially and ethnically marginalized patients compared to patients who are White. However, when trial participation is offered, more than half (55%) of patients agreed to enroll, regardless of race and ethnicity. The Site Self-Assessment is a quality improvement tool framed around the clinical trial enrollment continuum, and includes domains related to patient access to the site, screening patients for clinical trials, offering patients clinical trials, and participation and retention in trials.