@article {pmid42518232,
year = {2026},
author = {Xiao, H and LeBlanc, ML and Bertagnolli, MM and Threlkel, SA and Chansky, M and Hershman, DL and Unger, JM},
title = {Drug Costs in Federally Sponsored Cancer Clinical Trials: A Systematic Review.},
journal = {JAMA network open},
volume = {9},
number = {7},
pages = {e2625814},
doi = {10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.25814},
pmid = {42518232},
issn = {2574-3805},
abstract = {IMPORTANCE: Federally sponsored cancer clinical trials (FS-CCTs) address research questions often overlooked by industry (eg, pharmaceutical or biotechnology companies), such as treatment combinations, rare cancers, within-class comparisons, and de-escalation strategies. However, drug costs in these trials have not been comprehensively quantified. Federal agencies typically support trial infrastructure but not drugs, necessitating cosponsorship or in-kind donations from pharmaceutical companies. These arrangements often involve complex contractual processes that may delay trial initiation. Quantifying drug-related costs is important for informing policy and optimizing federal support for cancer research.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the direct purchase costs of drugs in FS-CCTs and examine cost patterns across sponsor types and therapeutic classes.

This systematic review included a search of the ClinicalTrials.gov registry using a structured query to identify all US-based cancer treatment trials initiated between January 1, 2017, and December 31, 2023, that involved pharmaceutical or biological interventions and received federal sponsorship. Analyses were conducted between June 1 and September 20, 2025.

EXPOSURE: Drug or biological interventions in FS-CCTs.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Wholesale acquisition cost-based trial-level total and per-patient drug costs. Between-group comparisons used Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests for 2- and multiple-group comparisons, respectively.

RESULTS: A total of 1378 US FS-CCTs with 140 066 participants were included in the analysis. The estimated median trial-level drug costs were $7.58 million (IQR, $2.11-$19.88 million), with substantially higher median costs for phase 3 trials ($58.92 million [IQR, $12.25-$127.17 million]) vs early phase trials ($6.90 million [IQR, $2.01-$17.70 million]) (P < .001) and for immunotherapies ($9.25 million [IQR, $3.12-$23.22 million]), targeted therapies ($6.60 million [IQR, $2.22-$18.06 million]), and combined immunotherapy and targeted therapy ($15.08 million [IQR, $6.30-$34.83 million]) compared with chemotherapy ($0.43 million [IQR, $0.11-$2.87 million]) (P < .001). Experimental agents accounted for approximately 80% of total drug costs. The median per-patient drug costs were higher in trials that were solely federally funded ($196 764 [IQR, $83 516-$414 514]) vs cosponsored trials ($149 879 [IQR, $35 329-$390 142]) (P < .001). Among 221 comparative phases 2 to 3 trials, the median experimental arm costs ($12.91 million [IQR, $3.37-$46.96 million]) were 5-fold higher than in control arms ($2.05 million [IQR, $0.16-$11.31 million]).

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this systematic review of FS-CCTs, drug costs were substantial, particularly in late-stage trials and those examining immunotherapies and targeted agents. High costs routinely required federally sponsored groups to seek industry support, which may have limited independence and constrained new treatment discovery. Policy innovations are needed to reduce trial drug cost burden and enable FS-CCT researchers to conduct scientifically and clinically relevant trials.},
}

@article {pmid42518291,
year = {2026},
author = {Lee, SJ and Cutler, C and Ma, N and Randolph, TW and Chen, GL and Pidala, J and Hamilton, BK and Kitko, CL and Arai, S and El Jurdi, N and Onstad, L and Koyama, M and Lee, CJ and Paczesny, S and Hill, GR},
title = {Plasma proteins associated with chronic graft-versus-host disease organ involvement.},
journal = {JCI insight},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {},
doi = {10.1172/jci.insight.209042},
pmid = {42518291},
issn = {2379-3708},
abstract = {BACKGROUND: Prior studies identified plasma proteins associated with chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD). The goal of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate whether plasma biomarkers were associated with specific organ manifestations to help guide treatment choice.

METHODS: Plasma proteins were measured in patients with cGVHD (n = 695) from Chronic GVHD Consortium studies. Correlations of plasma protein levels with individual organ involvement were tested with p≤0.05 considered significant after Benjamini-Hochberg adjustment and adjustment for five baseline clinical variables.

RESULTS: Median time from cGVHD diagnosis to blood draw was 0.9 months (IQR 0.1-9.5). Donors were 50% HLA-matched unrelated, 32% matched related and the remainder were umbilical cord blood, haploidentical or mismatched unrelated donors. Methotrexate and calcineurin inhibitor acute GVHD (aGVHD) prophylaxis was used in 53% of patients. Overall, 326 (47%) had moderate and 244 (35%) had severe cGVHD with the following organ involvement at time of blood draw: skin (67%), mouth (60%), eye (49%), joint (34%), GI (31%), lung (23%), and liver (17%). After adjustment for batch effects and patient and transplant characteristics, fourteen plasma proteins were associated with organ involvement with independent AUCs of 0.7-0.8. All organs except eye were associated with at least one biomarker. However, no combination of plasma proteins improved model fit after adjusting for patient and transplant clinical variables.

CONCLUSION: Correlations between plasma proteins and organ involvement were identified but are not actionable. Our future investigations will focus on more granular and immediately proximal determinants of cGVHD biology in both blood and tissue.},
}

@article {pmid42520199,
year = {2026},
author = {Wierda, WG and Dorritie, KA and Gauthier, J and Nath, R and Kipps, TJ and Riedell, PA and Eradat, HA and Kenderian, SS and Kharfan-Dabaja, MA and Shah, NN and Solomon, SR and Stephens, DM and Ermann, DA and Arnason, JE and Deol, A and Feldman, TA and Andreadis, CB and Ghosh, M and Ma, S and Schuster, SJ and Gergis, U and Vose, JM and Soumerai, JD and van Besien, K and Tuazon, SA and Perna, SK and Ou, SS and Ananthakrishnan, R and Rane, N and Papp, E and Ansari, S and Thompson, EG and Okal, A and Peiser, L and Chen, Y and Sengupta, S and Ray, PR and Wang, J and Siddiqi, T},
title = {Lisocabtagene maraleucel combined with ibrutinib in R/R CLL or SLL: primary results from TRANSCEND CLL 004.},
journal = {Blood},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {},
doi = {10.1182/blood.2026033565},
pmid = {42520199},
issn = {1528-0020},
abstract = {Patients in the liso-cel plus ibrutinib cohort of the phase 1/2, open-label TRANSCEND CLL 004 study had relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)/small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL) and received liso-cel (50×106 [dose level (DL)1] or 100×106 [DL2] chimeric antigen receptor-positive T cells) with concurrent ibrutinib from enrollment through 90 days after liso-cel infusion or longer per investigator discretion. Primary end point was complete response/remission (CR)/CR with incomplete marrow recovery (CRi) by investigator assessment. Among 56 patients who received ibrutinib plus liso-cel (DL1, n=5; DL2, n=51), median (range) age was 64.5 years (44‒77), 98% had high-risk cytogenetics, 55% had progression on Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitor and venetoclax failure, and median (range) number of prior therapies was 5 (1‒13). Median (range) follow-up was 24.8 months (3.1‒51.8). At DL2, CR/CRi rate was 45% (95% confidence interval [CI], 31‒60) and overall response rate was 86% (95% CI, 74‒94). Median (95% CI) duration of response was not reached (NR; 28.7‒NR) for patients with CR/CRi and 41.4 months (23.3‒NR) for all responders. Median (95% CI) progression-free survival was 31.4 months (20.1‒NR). In DL1+DL2, most common grade ≥3 treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAE) were neutropenia (52%) and anemia (41%). Cytokine release syndrome was reported in 80% of patients (grade 3, 4%; no grade 4/5), and neurological events in 41% (grade 3/4, 11%; no grade 5). Ibrutinib-related TEAEs were reported in 68% of patients (grade 3/4, 43%; no grade 5). Liso-cel plus ibrutinib demonstrated notable efficacy in patients with relapsed/refractory CLL/SLL with predictable and manageable safety. Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT03331198; NCT03435796.},
}

@article {pmid42520266,
year = {2025},
author = {Miller, SR and Chung, DH and Gonzalez, RT and Jackson, WC and Caram, MEV and Tsao, PA and Stensland, K and Gulati, R and Shah, Y and Wale, D and Elliott, D and Caverly, T and Hofer, TP and Saini, S and Green, MD and Schipper, M and Dess, RT and Bryant, AK},
title = {Impact of PSMA PET Staging on Initial Treatment in Newly Diagnosed Prostate Cancer.},
journal = {Journal of nuclear medicine : official publication, Society of Nuclear Medicine},
volume = {66},
number = {12},
pages = {1891-1897},
doi = {10.2967/jnumed.125.270825},
pmid = {42520266},
issn = {1535-5667},
abstract = {Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) PET/CT has become a common staging modality for newly diagnosed high-risk and unfavorable intermediate-risk prostate cancer after showing improved sensitivity and specificity compared with conventional imaging in clinical trials. We aimed to assess the causal impact of PSMA PET staging on initial treatment selection in real-world practice. Methods: We used observational data from the U.S. Veterans Health Administration to emulate a randomized controlled trial in which patients with newly diagnosed, unfavorable intermediate-, high-, and very-high-risk prostate cancer from January 2022 to December 2023 would have been randomized to undergo either upfront [18]F- or [68]Ga-PSMA PET staging or conventional imaging ([99m]Tc bone scan and pelvic CT or MRI). Outcomes of interest included use of frontline androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), second-generation androgen receptor pathway inhibitors (ARPIs), radiotherapy, and radical prostatectomy. Weighted univariable Cox regression was performed to assess the effect of treatment group on each outcome, and 95% CIs were generated from 1,000 bootstrap replicates. Results: In total, 9,049 patients met the criteria for inclusion. PSMA PET staging was associated with higher rates of any ADT use relative to conventional staging (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 1.26; 95% CI, 1.19-1.44), higher rates of ARPI use (aHR, 1.52; 95% CI, 1.33-1.78), lower rates of prostatectomy (aHR, 0.69; 95% CI, 0.56-0.83), and no significant effect on the use of radiotherapy (aHR, 1.10; 95% CI, 0.99-1.25). Compared with patients with PSMA stage N0M0, ARPI use was more common in patients with PSMA stage N1M0 (aHR, 6.87; 95% CI, 5.41-8.73) and PSMA stage M1 (aHR, 10.13; 95% CI, 8.16-1.2.58). Patients with PSMA N1M0 disease were much less likely to undergo prostatectomy compared with PSMA N0M0. Conclusion: PSMA PET staging may be leading to fewer prostatectomies and higher use rates of ADT and ARPIs in the Veterans Health Administration.},
}

@article {pmid42520859,
year = {2026},
author = {Jagsi, R and Meisner, A and Chalasani, P and Lew, D and Barlow, WE and Bellon, JR and Henry, NL and Matuszak, MM and Moran, JM and Pierce, LJ and Rakovitch, E and Reyes, SJ and Speers, C and Unger, JM and White, JR and Woodward, WA and Zellars, RC and Pusztai, L and Sharma, P},
title = {Adverse Events in a Randomized Trial Comparing Radiotherapy with or without Olaparib for Inflammatory Breast Cancer.},
journal = {International journal of radiation oncology, biology, physics},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {},
doi = {10.1016/j.ijrobp.2026.07.029},
pmid = {42520859},
issn = {1879-355X},
abstract = {INTRODUCTION: Recent conflicting reports regarding the tolerability of PARP inhibitors administered concurrently with breast radiotherapy motivate analysis of adverse events reported in a large national cooperative group trial.

METHODS: From 05/19 to 06/24, we enrolled patients with inflammatory (T4d) non-metastatic breast cancer to a Phase 2 NCI-cooperative group trial, which randomized patients after neoadjuvant systemic therapy selected by the treating physician and modified radical mastectomy to two arms. The control arm was assigned 50 Gy of chest wall and nodal radiotherapy, including bolus, plus 10 Gy boost. The intervention arm was assigned the same radiotherapeutic regimen with 25 mg of olaparib twice daily during radiotherapy. Adverse events were assessed using the CTCAE v5.0 weekly during radiotherapy. This analysis explores the distribution of radiation dermatitis, all acute adverse events in the chest-wall region, and other adverse events through the end of radiotherapy by study arm, where the adverse events were deemed possibly, probably, or definitely treatment-related. Chi-squared tests were used to compare proportions.

RESULTS: Among 146 evaluable participants (73 control, 73 intervention), median age was 54.1. No Grade 4 or 5 treatment-related events were reported. Grade 3 radiation dermatitis was reported in 24.7% of patients in the intervention arm and 5.5% in the control arm (p=0.003) during radiotherapy. When considering all acute chest-region adverse events (Table), 24.7% had grade 3 acute adverse events in the intervention arm vs 6.8% in the control arm (p=0.006) during treatment. One patient on the intervention arm had early, confluent telangiectasia throughout the 50 Gy fields with radiation-induced lichenoid dermatitis. Intervention arm patients were more likely to experience Grade 2 or greater gastrointestinal adverse events (17.8% vs 0%, p<0.001) and any grade of laboratory investigation abnormalities (19.2% vs 0%, p<0.001).

CONCLUSION: This analysis suggests continued caution if considering concurrent administration of radiotherapy and olaparib outside of the investigational context.},
}

@article {pmid42520860,
year = {2026},
author = {Lim, R and O'Connor, CS and Pan, J and Tang, TT and Castelo, A and He, Y and Titt, U and Long, JP and Altaie, M and Mohan, R and Liao, Z and Brock, KK},
title = {Predicting end-of-treatment ventilation response to radiotherapy using early treatment ventilation for patients with lung cancer treated with photons and protons.},
journal = {International journal of radiation oncology, biology, physics},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {},
doi = {10.1016/j.ijrobp.2026.07.026},
pmid = {42520860},
issn = {1879-355X},
abstract = {PURPOSE: Functional lung avoidance radiotherapy spares high functioning regions of the lung to reduce toxicity risk but disregards functional changes during treatment. To further investigate functional change in the normal lung, we employ voxel-based techniques such as ventilation maps throughout treatment. We hypothesize that ventilation change during the beginning of treatment (BOT) predicts for ventilation change between planning and the end of treatment (EOT).

METHODS: For 71 lung cancer patients, 48 treated with photon radiotherapy and 23 treated with proton radiotherapy, 4-dimensional CT (4DCT)-based ventilation maps were generated using stress-based finite-element methods at planning, BOT, and EOT. Voxel-wise ventilation change at BOT and EOT was calculated. Patients were stratified into 6 groups according to modality (combined and separate) and increased or decreased ventilation at BOT. For each group, ventilation change was binned by planned dose and the median was computed at BOT and EOT across patients. EOT ventilation was correlated with planning ventilation, BOT ventilation, and clinical factors through univariate analysis. A linear regression model was developed to identify predictors of EOT ventilation. Model features included ventilation at planning, ventilation at BOT, and lung volume. Model accuracy was assessed through R[2].

RESULTS: Of the patients with increased ventilation at BOT, 74% (79% of photon patients and 75% of proton patients) were stratified identically at EOT. Of the patients with decreased ventilation at BOT, 83% (86% of photon patients and 82% of proton patients) were stratified identically at EOT. Univariate analysis indicated that only planning ventilation, BOT ventilation, and lung volume was correlated with EOT ventilation. The linear regression model achieved a R[2] of 0.89.

CONCLUSION: Ventilation change at BOT can predict ventilation change at EOT, demonstrating great potential for using ventilation as an imaging biomarker. Further work is needed to correlate ventilation change with patient-reported outcomes and radiation-induced toxicities such as pneumonitis.},
}

@article {pmid42521771,
year = {2026},
author = {Pichardo, MS and Hunt, RP and Peterson, LL and Pan, K and Coday, M and Jung, SY and Snetselaar, L and Neuhouser, ML and Steck, SE and Tabung, FK and Saquib, N and Manson, JE and Chlebowski, RT},
title = {Low-fat dietary pattern and dietary advanced glycation end-products intake: a secondary analysis of the Women's Health Initiative randomized trial.},
journal = {British journal of cancer},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {},
pmid = {42521771},
issn = {1532-1827},
abstract = {BACKGROUND: In the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) Dietary Modification (DM) randomized trial, a low-fat dietary pattern intervention reduced breast cancer mortality (P = 0.02). Higher dietary advanced glycation end-products (dAGE) may be associated with higher breast cancer incidence. In this report, we examined whether the WHI dietary intervention influenced dAGE consumption.

METHODS: Of 48,835 postmenopausal women randomized (40:60) to dietary intervention versus usual diet comparison, 40,209 had food frequency questionnaires at baseline, and serially through 5-7 years, which were used to estimate dAGE scores (kilo Unit/1000 kilocalories [kU/1000 kcal]) using a commonly referenced database. Multivariate regressions with repeated dAGE measures were examined by randomization group.

RESULTS: Baseline mean dAGE scores were similar for intervention (7542 kU/1000 kcal, standard deviation (SD) = 912) and comparison (7514 kU/1000 kcal, SD = 917) groups. Through 5-7 years, dAGE scores were persistently lower in intervention versus comparison groups (mean range 5361-6236 kU/1000 kcal versus 7159-7669 kU/1000 kcal (P < 0.0001).

CONCLUSIONS: The WHI low-fat dietary pattern intervention substantially reduced dAGE consumption.

CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT00000611; Date: 10/28/1999.},
}

@article {pmid42521817,
year = {2026},
author = {Kerrebijn, I and Bjornsdottir, G and Arbabi, K and Urpa, L and Haapaniemi, H and Thorleifsson, G and Stefansdottir, L and Frangakis, S and Valliere, J and Kunorozva, L and Abner, E and Ji, C and Kangur, M and Aagaard, B and Bliddal, H and Brunak, S and Bruun, MT and Didriksen, M and Erikstrup, C and Finer, S and Geirsson, AJ and Gudbjartsson, DF and Hansen, TF and van Heel, D and Jonsdottir, I and Knight, S and Knowlton, KU and Mikkelsen, C and Nadauld, LD and Olafsdottir, TA and Ostrowski, SR and Pedersen, OBV and Saevarsdottir, S and Skuladottir, AT and Sørensen, E and Stefansson, H and Sulem, P and Sveinsson, OA and Thorlacius, GE and Thorsteinsdottir, U and Ullum, H and Vikingsson, A and Werge, TM and , and , and , and , and , and Saxena, R and Stefansson, K and Brummett, CM and Glintborg, B and Clauw, DJ and Thorgeirsson, TE and Williams, FMK and Sinnott-Armstrong, N and Ollila, HM and Wainberg, M},
title = {The genetic architecture of fibromyalgia across 2.5 million individuals.},
journal = {Nature medicine},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {},
pmid = {42521817},
issn = {1546-170X},
support = {MHP-192163//Gouvernement du Canada | Instituts de Recherche en Santé du Canada | CIHR Skin Research Training Centre (Skin Research Training Centre)/ ; FBD-199459//Gouvernement du Canada | Instituts de Recherche en Santé du Canada | CIHR Skin Research Training Centre (Skin Research Training Centre)/ ; H2020-2020-848099//European Commission (EC)/ ; H2020-2020-848099//European Commission (EC)/ ; K08AR082454//U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | National Institutes of Health (NIH)/ ; RM1HG010461//U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | National Institutes of Health (NIH)/ ; 894987//EC | Horizon 2020 Framework Programme (EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation H2020)/ ; 101137201//EC | Horizon 2020 Framework Programme (EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation H2020)/ ; 101137154//EC | Horizon 2020 Framework Programme (EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation H2020)/ ; PRG1291//Ministry of Education and Research | Estonian Research Competency Council (Research Competency Council)/ ; OFIL-24-074//Oak Foundation/ ; NNF17OC0027594//Novo Nordisk Fonden (Novo Nordisk Foundation)/ ; NNF14CC0001//Novo Nordisk Fonden (Novo Nordisk Foundation)/ ; NNF23OC0082015//Novo Nordisk Fonden (Novo Nordisk Foundation)/ ; NNF17OC0027594//Novo Nordisk Fonden (Novo Nordisk Foundation)/ ; NNF23OC0082015//Novo Nordisk Fonden (Novo Nordisk Foundation)/ ; NNF17OC0027864//Novo Nordisk Fonden (Novo Nordisk Foundation)/ ; NNF17OC0027594//Novo Nordisk Fonden (Novo Nordisk Foundation)/ ; 09-069412//Natur og Univers, Det Frie Forskningsråd (Natural Sciences, Danish Council for Independent Research)/ ; },
abstract = {Fibromyalgia is a common and debilitating chronic pain syndrome of poorly understood etiology. Here we conduct a multi-ancestry genome-wide association study meta-analysis across 2,563,755 individuals (54,629 cases and 2,509,126 controls) from 11 cohorts, identifying 26 risk loci for fibromyalgia. The strongest association was with a coding variant in HTT, the causal gene for Huntington's disease. Gene prioritization implicated the HTT regulator GPR52, as well as diverse genes with neural roles, including DCC, DRD2/NCAM1, MDGA2 and CELF4. Fibromyalgia heritability was exclusively enriched within brain tissues and neural cell types. Fibromyalgia showed strong, positive genetic correlation with a wide range of chronic pain, psychiatric and somatic disorders, including genetic correlations above 0.7 with low back pain, post-traumatic stress disorder and irritable bowel syndrome. Despite large sex differences in fibromyalgia prevalence, the genetic architecture of fibromyalgia was nearly identical between males and females. This study provides robust genetic evidence defining fibromyalgia as a central nervous system disorder, thereby establishing a biological framework for its complex pathophysiology and extensive clinical comorbidities.},
}

@article {pmid42521833,
year = {2026},
author = {Zaalberg, A and Lacoste, A and Minnee, E and Mayayo-Peralta, I and Schuurman, K and Gregoricchio, S and van Schaik, TA and Hoekman, L and Li, D and Corey, E and Janssen, H and Lieftink, C and Prekovic, S and Proost, N and van de Ven, M and Zander, S and Altelaar, M and Nelson, PS and Beijersbergen, RL and Zwart, W and Bergman, AM},
title = {A genome-wide CRISPR screen in human prostate cancer cells reveals drivers of macrophage-mediated cell killing and positions AR as a tumor-intrinsic immunomodulator.},
journal = {Oncogene},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {},
pmid = {42521833},
issn = {1476-5594},
abstract = {Macrophages are the most abundant immune cells in the prostate tumor microenvironment and capable of killing tumor cells, but tumor intrinsic modulators of resistance to the innate immune system are unknown. To identify genes essential for macrophage-mediated killing, we performed a genome-wide co-culture CRISPR screen and identified Androgen Receptor (AR), PRKCD, and multiple components of the NF-κB pathway (IKBKB/IKBKG/CHUK) as tumor-intrinsic essential factors to allow for macrophage-mediated killing. Mechanistically, both AR and NF-κB directly drive expression of PRKCD within cancer cells, functionally implicating all hits within one molecular pathway. Importantly, androgen deprivation and AR-inhibition both rendered tumor cells resistant to macrophage-mediated killing, which positions tumor-intrinsic AR signaling as a bona fide immunomodulatory pathway. Proteomic analyses showed a selective downregulation of the oxidative phosphorylation pathway in PRKCD- and IKBKG-KO cells, suggesting impaired mitochondrial function, which was confirmed by electron microscopy analyses. Finally, phosphoproteomic analyses revealed that all hits perturbing macrophage-mediated tumor cell eradication, impaired ferroptosis signaling in the tumor cells, which was confirmed transcriptionally using samples from a neoadjuvant phase II clinical trial with the AR-inhibitor enzalutamide. These data reveal immune protection from macrophages as an adverse consequence of hormonal therapy in prostate cancer patients.},
}

@article {pmid42521861,
year = {2026},
author = {Anderson, N and Heffner, JL and Giustini, N and Go, T and Scout, NFN and Hippe, DS and Walsh, C and Triplette, M},
title = {Patient perspectives on sexual orientation and gender identity data collection in cancer care settings.},
journal = {Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer},
volume = {34},
number = {8},
pages = {},
pmid = {42521861},
issn = {1433-7339},
abstract = {PURPOSE: Sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) data collection is considered an essential component of patient-centered cancer care. The objective of this study was to understand attitudes toward and understanding of SOGI data collection among patients receiving care at a comprehensive cancer center.

METHODS: Surveys assessing attitudes toward SOGI data collection and acceptability of the collection methods were sent to 250 patients 2 months after participating in a pilot trial of SOGI data collection from September through December 2023. We also conducted a comparison of the acceptability of two standardized approaches to SOGI demographic questions. We purposively oversampled sexual and gender minority (SGM) patients to compare survey responses between respondents who did and did not identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and/or queer/questioning (LGBTQ +).

RESULTS: Of 91 survey respondents (response rate 36%), average age was 58 years, the majority were assigned female at birth (69%) and white (71%), and 24% identified as LGBTQ + . Overall, participants reported high levels of agreement on SOGI data collection importance and acceptability. Survey responses suggested LGBTQ + participants considered SOGI data collection more important to collect and more comfortable to answer than participants who did not identify as LGBTQ + . For both groups, results suggest more limited response choices may be more understandable and acceptable than more extensive response choices.

CONCLUSION: There were generally positive attitudes toward SOGI data collection among patients undergoing cancer-related care, with greater acceptability among those who identified as LGBTQ + . Further efforts in patient education and refinement of acceptable SOGI questions may be necessary to improve universal understanding and acceptability.},
}