432P - Representation of countries and gender in abstracts at the 2022 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Scientific Meeting (ASCO ASM)

Background

There is a paucity of data describing authorship of abstracts through the lens of country and gender representation, to monitor whether research is representative of the global community. Here we analyzed the country and gender of work of first and last authors across phase 3 trial abstracts presented at the 2022 ASCO ASM, the largest oncology meeting in the world.

Methods

Abstracts of solid tumor phase 3 trials presented at the 2022 ASCO ASM were identified. Data was manually extracted. In case of ambiguity regarding gender, verification was sourced from a national colleague; if still unclear, gender was coded unknown. Countries were categorized by region and income according to World Bank analytical grouping.

Results

A total of 247 phase 3 trial abstracts were identified. North America, Europe & Central Asia and East Asia & Pacific were the best represented regions (48%, 29%, 19% for first author, and 40%, 36%, 21% for last author respectively), while Latin America & Caribbean, Middle East & North Africa and South Asia constituted few abstracts (0.4%, 0.4%, 3% for first author and 0%, 0.4%, 3% for last author respectively). No authors originated from Sub-Saharan Africa. Most authors in Asia originated from institutions in China. Most abstracts were presented by authors from institutions in high income countries (84%), then upper-middle (13%), and lower-middle (4%), with no abstracts from low income countries. Overall, fewer women were first and last author (30% and 24% respectively). In Asia, first and last authors were more likely to be male (72% and 66% respectively).

Conclusions

Most trials at the 2022 ASCO ASM were presented by males from institutions in high income, Western countries. Data analysis of country and gender is important to drive proactive change to ensure representation matches cancer burden and to fulfill the mission of global oncology. Given the projections of greatest relative increase in cancer burden in low and medium development index countries in the next 20 years, it is increasingly essential to tailor research approaches to areas of highest need. Author diversity is important to foster innovative approaches to promote pragmatic solutions to the major dilemmas in oncology around the globe.

Clinical trial identification

Editorial acknowledgement

Legal entity responsible for the study

The authors.

Funding

Has not received any funding.

Disclosure

All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.