‘Action needed’ to avoid racism in cancer trials and therapy

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By Olivia Bowthorpe

Clinical trial eligibility criteria should be chosen with care to avoid structural racism based on factors such as different blood counts, say researchers.

Cancer research involving people with the Duffy null phenotype is an "under-recognised and widespread source of discrimination against people of African or Arab ancestry", said Dr Andrew Hantel, instructor in medicine at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, US, and colleagues.¹