Journal of Clinical Trials
Open Access

Abstract

Cancer Clinical Trials in Hawai‘i: Who’s Being Represented

Erin O’Carroll Bantum, Iona Cheng, Kevin Cassel, Lana Sue Ka‘opua, Ross Yamato and Jeffrey Berenberg

Background: Representation of diverse ethnic/racial groups is critically important in the development of cancer prevention and treatment strategies. However, representation of diverse ethnic/racial groups has yet to be fully realized, especially among historically disadvantaged minority groups. Ethnic minority groups account for about 75% of Hawai‘i’s population; approximately 55% of the state’s population self-identify as Asian (with the most predominant ethnic/racial groups being Japanese, Filipino, Chinese, and Korean) and approximately 24% as Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander. Such diversity provided researchers a unique opportunity to characterize the demographic profile of cancer prevention and treatment trials conducted in Hawai ‘i. Methods: In the current study, the gender and ethnic/racial distribution of four national cancer prevention trials and 178 treatment trials conducted in Hawai‘i from 1992 to 2004 were characterized. Results: Native Hawaiian men were significantly less likely to participate in both cancer prevention and treatment trials than Native Hawaiian women. In addition, Native Hawaiian men and women had the lowest proportion of participation in cancer clinical trials in comparison to White and Asian American men and women. Conclusions: Our findings identify gender and ethnic/racial differences in the participation of cancer clinical trial participants in the state of Hawai‘i. This serves as an important indicator for the need of future research to specifically investigate the relationship of culture and other factors on participation. Such research may inform promotional strategies that increase trial participation, with the hopeful prospect of decreasing cancer incidence and increasing quality of life for those diagnosed with cancer.