INCLUSION OF WOMEN IN CLINICAL RESEARCH

Medical University Of South Carolina, Charleston SC

Investigators

Linked publications, trials & patents

Abstract

One of the most important functions of the Hollings Cancer Center (HCC) is that it addresses the specific cancer burden of South Carolina (SC). Therefore, the State of SC is this Center's geographically-defined catchment area. The HCC's catchment area has been elaborated on in Section 6.0 Director's Overview and in Section 8.1 Senior Leadership. In summary, the HCC is the only academic-based cancer center and the only NCI-designated cancer center in the state. It is also the single largest cancer treatment center in SC with the majority of its patients coming from within the state's borders (Figure 1). Less than 5% of the HCC's cancer patients come from neighboring or other states. Greater than 75% of SC is designated as rural by the SC Rural Health Association. Moreover, all 46 counties in the state have areas designated as medically underserved by the Health Resources and Services Administration. These factors among many contribute to SC being ranked 13th in the nation for the highest cancer mortality rates. Of great concern, the incidence and mortality associated with a variety of cancers are much higher in the African American population in SC than the national average. This section specifically presents demographic data for both newly diagnosed cancer patients in SC and newly diagnosed cancer patients at the Medical University of South Carolina's (MUSC) Hollings Cancer Center in order to demonstrate its efforts in including minorities and women in clinical trials. Table 1 provides a 2011 summary of the demographic characteristics of the general SC population, South Carolinians newly diagnosed with cancer, and newly diagnosed HCC patients. Table 2 provides demographic data on HCC patients enrolled in interventional treatment, interventional non-treatment, and non-interventional studies in 2012.