Clinical research brings hope for those diagnosed with cancer and a host of other diseases, yet lack of diversity in clinical trials hampers these efforts and furthers healthcare inequities.

People of disparate ages, races, and ethnicities can have different reactions to medical treatment, so having a diverse population participate in trials helps ensure the safety and efficacy of new medications. Inclusive research also enables more patients to benefit from therapies that can improve their quality of life.

Although there have been many efforts amongst stakeholders to enhance inclusive cancer clinical trials, there remains stubborn inequalities in cancer trial populations in the United States. Hispanic and Latino patients represent 18.1% of the U.S. population but less than 1% of trial participants while Black patients represent 13.4% of the U.S. population and only 5% of trial participants.

Together, National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated cancer centers, LUNGevity Foundation, Stand Up To Cancer, and PlatformQ Health have forged a collaboration to tackle these disparities.

The collaboration’s first endeavor will be an expert panel discussion video on diversity in lung cancer trials to help clinicians understand communication gaps that impede trial enrollment, and help patients gain insights into the value of clinical trials.

Hosted on PlatformQ Health’s patient and caregiver learning channel (CancerCoachLive) and its clinician learning channel (OmedLive), the interactive session will offer physicians, patients, and caregivers access to thoracic medical oncologist and clinical scientist Jhanelle Gray, MD; Associate Center Director of Community Outreach, Engagement, and Equity Susan Vadaparampil, PhD, MPH; and Director of Interventional Pulmonology Amit Tandon, MD from the Moffitt Cancer Center, along with a lung cancer patient who will share their firsthand clinical trial experience.

“It is incredibly important to ensure that minority representation in cancer clinical trials is addressed,” said Stand Up To Cancer CEO Sung Poblete. “Through this collaboration, we are able to reach patients, caregivers, nurses, and physicians to raise awareness about the critical need to increase diversity in cancer clinical trials so that all cancer patients benefit equally from advances in research and have access to potentially life-saving treatments.”  

“We’re proud to partner with Moffitt Cancer Center and Stand Up To Cancer who have built ongoing trusted relationships with diverse communities across the United States,” said LUNGevity Foundation Chief Health Equity and Diversity Officer Jeanne Regnante. “PlatformQ Health’s learning channels are an effective way to further this dialogue with clinicians, patients, caregivers, and community leaders.”

“Ensuring medicines are safe and effective for everyone requires greater diversity in clinical trials,” said PlatformQ Health Senior Vice President of Education

Kathryn Pucci. “Collaborating with the Moffitt Cancer Center, LUNGevity Foundation, and Stand Up To Cancer is an incredible opportunity to foster more inclusive, equitable capabilities across stakeholders.”

Improving access and education in clinical trials is an ongoing endeavor that will require the commitment of stakeholders across the medical community. To learn more about this program, visit https://www.cancercoachlive.com/cancer-clinical-trials/.

Want to learn more about the issues driving this partnership and initiative? Read our new article, Promoting Equity in Lung Cancer Clinical Trials. 

Independent grant support for this educational initiative was provided by Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Pfizer, Inc.; and the Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited.

Interested in learning more about our approach to improving diversity in clinical trial participation? Email us at digital@platformq.com.

About PlatformQ Health

PlatformQ Health is the leading provider of interactive digital medical education for clinicians, patients, and caregivers. To improve patient care, PlatformQ Health Education creates video-first educational modules with premier partners, so learners can better understand conditions, available treatment options, and the latest research. 

The company’s proprietary platform allows participants to engage in real-time discussion with scientific, research and patient care experts – and the integrated learning solution enables advocates, administrators, health systems and plans, foundations, societies, member organizations and associations to measure the impact of their education.

About LUNGevity Foundation

LUNGevity Foundation is the nation’s leading lung cancer organization focused on improving outcomes for people with lung cancer through research, policy initiatives, education, support, and engagement for patients, survivors, and caregivers. LUNGevity seeks to make an immediate impact on quality of life and survivorship for everyone touched by the disease—while promoting health equity by addressing disparities throughout the care continuum.

LUNGevity works tirelessly to advance research into early detection and more effective treatments, provide information and educational tools to empower patients and their caregivers, promote impactful public policy initiatives, and amplify the patient voice through research and engagement. The organization provides an active community for patients and survivors—and those who help them live longer and better lives.

Comprehensive resources include a medically vetted and patient-centric website, a toll-free HELPLine for support, the International Lung Cancer Survivorship Conference, and an easy-to-use Clinical Trial Finder, among other tools. All of these programs are to achieve our vision—a world where no one dies of lung cancer. LUNGevity Foundation is proud to be a four-star Charity Navigator organization.

About Lung Cancer in the United States

•  About 1 in 16 Americans will be diagnosed with lung cancer in their lifetime.
• More than 235,000 people in the US will be diagnosed with lung cancer this year.
• About 60%-65% of all new lung cancer diagnoses are among people who have never smoked or are former smokers.
• Lung cancer takes more lives than the next three leading cancers (colorectal, breast, and prostate) combined.
• Only 22% of all people diagnosed with lung cancer will survive 5 years or more, BUT if it’s caught before it spreads, the chance of 5-year survival improves dramatically.