Winning hearts & minds: prostate cancer outreach and clinical trial enrollment in minority men

Minorities participate less than White people in a variety of research settings limiting the generalizability of the research results. The driving forces behind the lower participation rates are multifactorial and vary by race. Further compounding these driving forces are past inequities and violations of trust by the healthcare system. Addressing these issues is crucial to equitably accruing within clinical trials and subsequently addressing the lack of generalizable results being produced. Despite legislation being enacted to increase the enrollment of minorities in clinical trials, the participation rates remain low with cancer clinical trials being particularly disparate in terms of equitable representation. As prostate cancer disproportionately affects Black men, it is imperative that prostate cancer clinical trials enroll an equitable number of Black men. Previous trials including the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian multicenter randomized trial and the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial both involved concerted efforts to address the relatively low participation rate of minority men, but both were not successful in that regard. To facilitate equal access and ensure the appropriate participation of minorities in prostate cancer clinical trials, various interventions from additional safety assurances to consenting patients as a family unit have been employed, depending on the community. Overall, progress is being made in equitably accruing clinical trials, but there remains more work to be done.