Site Editors
Shaji K. Kumar, MD
Prashant Kapoor, MD, FACP
Shaji K. Kumar, MD
Prashant Kapoor, MD, FACP
Posted: Friday, October 7, 2022
Although there is a trend for including more Black patients in randomized clinical trials in multiple myeloma, much work remains to rectify disparities, reported Marc Justin Braunstein, MD, PhD, of NYU Long Island School of Medicine in Mineola, New York, and colleagues in a presentation during the 2022 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Quality Care Symposium (Abstract 89). According to their analysis of 76 trials, with results published over the past 5 years that included racial demographic details, just 4.8% of the 38,830 participants were Black, although the incidence of multiple myeloma is twice as high for Black versus White individuals and mortality rates are higher for Black patients as well. In these trials, 87.5% of the patients were White and 7.7% were either Asian, “mixed,” or “other.”
Between 2018 and 2021, the trend was significant over time for increased enrollment of Black patients, growing from 2.1% to 7.0% (P < .001). “Black individuals remained largely underrepresented in all these studies,” the authors stated. Their original pool of screened articles included 431 studies focused on multiple myeloma interventions that were published between 2012 and 2022; however, few reported the racial breakdown until the latter half of that period.
“Underrepresentation of racial groups within clinical trials impacts the generalizability of [any] important findings,” Dr. Braunstein and co-investigators continued. “Further investigations are required to examine the reasons underlying racial disparities in multiple myeloma trial recruitment and enrollment.” Generally, Black Americans are significantly less likely than their White counterparts to become involved in clinical trials: The likely reasons include less access to such trials, a hesitancy to participate in them, and a possible clinician bias. In multiple myeloma, efforts are underway to enhance enrollment of underrepresented populations, noted the authors.
Disclosure: The study authors’ disclosure information can be found at coi.asco.org.
2022 ASCO Quality Care Symposium
