At a major cancer center serving diverse Los Angeles County, women of color face a stark mismatch between where gynecologic cancers hit hardest and where clinical trials are actually available. Clinical trials are described as “an essential part of advancing quality cancer care,” yet the study reports that trial availability does not line up with the racial and ethnic makeup of the surrounding community or with the local burden of disease among cervical, uterine, and ovarian cancers.
The researchers found that ovarian cancer accounted for most trials and 82% of enrolled patients, even though it made up only about a quarter of local gynecologic cancer cases. Uterine cancer, which has the highest incidence and rising rates particularly among Black, Hispanic, American Indian/Alaska Native, and Asian/Pacific Islander women, represented just 9% of trial participants. Cervical cancer, where incidence and mortality are twice as high in Black, Hispanic, and American Indian/Alaska Native women as in White women, had the fewest trials and no industry sponsorship.
Racial patterns in enrollment reinforced inequities. Non-Hispanic White patients were overrepresented in ovarian cancer trials, while Asian/Pacific Islander, Black, and Hispanic patients were underrepresented; nearly all cervical cancer trial participants were Hispanic women at a county safety-net hospital. The authors warn that “true equity in clinical trials” requires not only adequate trial availability across cancers that disproportionately affect minority women, but also comparable sponsorship and access in the very communities bearing the greatest burden of disease.
See: “Differences in Clinical Trial Availability vs Distribution of Disease Among Gynecological Cancers” (December 4, 2025)
