This Study Shows Who’s Missing From Advanced Prostate Cancer Clinical Trials

A recent study in Advanced Urology explored who gets access to clinical trials for advanced prostate cancer in the United States, and older men are among the most affected. These trials are research studies that test new treatments and are crucial for improving patient care. The researchers used data from CancerLinQ Discovery, a large collection of information from many cancer doctors’ offices, looking at 17,028 men diagnosed with prostate cancer that had spread either within the surrounding area (regional) or to other parts of the body (metastatic) between 2011 and 2023. The study showed that very few men with advanced prostate cancer participate in clinical trials. Overall, only 2.6% of patients—just 450 individuals—were enrolled in a trial. The number of participants varied over the years, peaking at almost 4% in 2018 before dropping back down to about 2.4% in 2023. Older men were less likely to join a trial. The main focus of the study was to see if there were differences in trial participation based on race and ethnicity. Compared to White men, Hispanic/Latino men were significantly less likely to enroll in clinical trials. Men who identified as belonging to another race or ethnicity outside the common categories also...