The importance of diversity in clinical trials for hepatitis C

Aja McCutchen, MD, does a deep dive into why hepatitis C seems to disproportionately affect Black people. She explains the importance of diversity in clinical trials due to genetic, metabolic, social, economic, and cultural factors.

Transcript

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Hey, Dr. McCutchen. Hepatitis C seems to disproportionately affect Black people. Why is that?

00:06

That's actually a really great question. Let's take a deeper dive. [MUSIC PLAYING]

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Clinical trials help medical professionals find safe and effective treatments for people with certain diseases.

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Participants in these trials should accurately represent the population of those most affected by whatever

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the disease is being studied. Meaning if a certain gender, age, or ethnicity group

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is disproportionately affected by a certain disease, then a clinical trial should accurately represent that population in order

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to obtain the most accurate data. For example, hepatitis C disproportionately affects African-Americans in the United States.

00:54

You think that this would mean that in clinical trials for hepatitis C treatments a majority of the participants

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would be African-American. However, that is not the case. The FDA has recommended racial and ethnic data

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be collected for all clinical trials, but it's not a requirement. A recent study of hepatitis C clinical trials

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that did report race found that only about 13% of participants were African-American. If reporting race data becomes a requirement,

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appropriate measures can be taken to make sure those who need to participate in the trials the most are represented.

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Race is important in clinical trials due to the genetic, metabolic, social, economic, and cultural factors that

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contribute to disease outcomes. Treatment isn't one-size fits all, and without this data, it can make treating certain populations more

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difficult and less accurate. Factors that can contribute to lack of diversity in clinical trials are the lack of insurance,

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which would exclude people from participating in certain clinical trials, limited flexibility at work

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to participate, trial sites are not easily accessible, and the lack of awareness and information

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about the clinical trials. Recruiting people for clinical trials may be difficult when reaching out to certain communities. African-Americans may be hesitant to participate

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in clinical trials due to the systemic racism that still plagues our country. It is important to rebuild trust in minority communities

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so that they can be properly cared for. Diversity in clinical trials means that new drugs and treatments can be more safe and effective