Bringing inclusion to breast cancer research
Claudia Espitia is an assistant staff scientist supporting breast cancer research at the University of Arizona Cancer Center.
The University of Arizona Cancer Center has long been at the forefront of breast cancer research and treatment. Lately, the center's Ginny L. Clements Breast Cancer Research Institute has become deeply involved in the nationwide push toward precision medicine and targeted therapies, contributing to better outcomes for breast cancer patients, particularly those from historically underrepresented populations.
There’s just been one problem.
“In the past, the majority of patients who were enrolled in the studies were white,” said Dr. Sima Ehsani Chimeh, the center’s Breast Clinical Research Team leader. “We didn’t have good representation of other ethnicities, and we don’t know if the results would apply to all the patients.”
That’s now changing. Ehsani Chimeh said the center has boosted its commitment to ensuring diverse populations are represented in clinical trials. That’s not just to ensure that new breakthroughs in breast cancer research and treatment benefit everyone, regardless of race or ethnicity — although that’s certainly part of the mission.