The Why
Lung cancer is the number one cancer killer of both men and women in the United States. While progress in the early detection and treatment of the disease in recent years has been made, this progress has not been shared equally, and lung cancer disparities continue to impact the Hispanic community.
Currently, Hispanic individuals with lung cancer are 16% less likely to be diagnosed early and are 30% more likely to not receive any treatment. Lung cancer research is moving at a rapid pace, and clinical trials are critical to advancing promising lung cancer treatments. However, only 1% of the clinical trial population is represented by Hispanics.
There is hope, and Hispanic individuals deserve to benefit from the cutting-edge therapies clinical trials may offer as clinical trials are sometimes the most appropriate treatment option for a lung cancer patient. Participating in a clinical trial might give you access to cancer care that could save or extend your life. That means more precious time with your loved ones. When you participate in a clinical trial, not only are you accessing high-quality cancer care, but you are also contributing to cancer research which might save someone’s life in the future.
Facts About Lung Cancer Clinical Trials
Clinical trials are highly monitored research studies. They can look at many things like:
- how to prevent a disease
- new ways to detect or diagnose a disease
- new ways to treat disease.
When a clinical trial tests a new cancer treatment, patients are never given a placebo or “sugar pill”. Everyone in the study gets the highest standard of treatment, but some people will also get the treatment being studied. This means that patients will still be undergoing lung cancer treatment with first line treatments such as chemotherapy or immunotherapy, but that some patients will also receive the trial treatment in addition to the standardized treatment everyone enrolled in the trial is receiving.
Importance of Diversity
It is important to enroll a diverse group of people in clinical trials. That way researchers can learn about how lung cancer treatments work in different populations. This extends treatment options for not only people enrolled in the trial, but for current and future lung cancer patients.
Unfortunately, clinical trial enrollment in the U.S. may not fully resemble the makeup of the population. Many types of people are underrepresented in clinical trials, including Hispanic and Latino communities. This is true for several reasons. One of them is the long-standing history of racial bias in healthcare which impacts access to care and trust in providers.
Participation = Representation
Because a clinical trial might be the best treatment option for someone facing lung cancer, it is important for patients to get all the facts from their doctor before deciding whether to participate. Hispanic patients deserve to benefit from the cutting-edge therapies clinical trials may offer. When more Hispanic people are represented in the study, researchers can learn about the best treatments for Hispanic people. And then, Hispanic patients will get better access to lung cancer treatment that may save or extend their lives.
That’s why organizations, like the American Lung Association, are committed to raising awareness about the importance of clinical trials.
If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with lung cancer, talk to your doctor about all the available treatment options, including clinical trials. Learn more at Lung.org/clinicaltrials.
Page last updated: September 5, 2024
