Clinical trial data is vital in determining treatment options for patients, and a diverse clinical trial population helps to accurately represent a city’s demographics. More than half of the Miami Cancer Institute’s clinical trial participants were Hispanic in 2019, setting the institution at the head of the curve for diversity.
While the idea of diversifying clinical trial populations is not widely practiced yet, the concept is not new. Scott Lipkin, DPM, CIP, chief research officer at Miami Cancer Institute, explained that the highest levels of the FDA have stressed the importance of clinical trial diversity to garner more accurate and effective results.
“When you think about clinical trials and clinical therapeutic research, we’re testing safety and efficacy of investigational drugs and devices to see if they can be brought to market because they offer a benefit that doesn’t…