On May 25, 2021, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) hosted a virtual roundtable, entitled, 'From Diagnosis to Treatment: Ensuring Equity in Precision Cancer Care," which focused on achieving equity in precision cancer care.
Racial and ethnic minorities, lower-income Americans, and the uninsured are less likely to be offered genetic testing and genome sequencing, less likely to receive a targeted therapy, and less likely to be enrolled in a clinical trial – factors that contribute to well-documented disparities in survival and other cancer outcomes.
Moderated by ASCO President Lori J. Pierce, MD, FASTRO, FASCO, the virtual roundtable brought together leaders in the oncology community for an open discussion on challenges to achieving equity in precision cancer care, along with actions needed at the provider, institution, and government levels to ensure equitable access to precision medicine advances for all individuals with cancer—Every Patient. Every Day. Everywhere.
The roundtable is just one of many activities inspired by Dr. Pierce’s 2020-2021 Presidential theme, “Equity: Every day. Every patient. Everywhere,” which puts a sharp focus on the need for the oncology community to confront and address the complex factors that lead to disparities in outcomes. Her theme builds on ASCO’s ongoing commitment to addressing inequities in cancer care and research.
Learn more about ASCO’s health equity work.
Bookmark ASCO in Action for updates on ASCO’s health equity initiatives.
