In this episode of the IJGC podcast, Editor-in-Chief Dr. Pedro Ramirez is joined by Drs. Drs. Anne Knisely and Nitecki Wilke to discuss Racial and Sociodemographic Disparities with Novel Therapeutics. Dr. Knisely is a 3rd year gynecologic oncology fellow at MD Anderson Cancer Center. She is originally from the New York City area and completed her residency training in Ob/Gyn at Columbia University in 2022 where Dr. Jason Wright served as her primary research mentor. Her current research focuses on early phase clinical trials, minimal residual disease in ovarian cancer, and sociodemographic factors that affect oncologic treatment and outcomes. She is a current SGO/GOG-F BRIDGES Research Scholar. In her free time, she mostly chases around her two toddlers, Zoe (3.5) and Isaiah (2). Dr. Nitecki Wilke is a gynecologic oncologist and assistant professor at the department of gynecologic oncology and reproductive medicine at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Highlights:

• Of the 6242 patients who met inclusion criteria and were included in the final cohort, 4.4% received a PARP inhibitor, 34% received bevacizumab, and 6% received both. 


• On multivariable analysis, non-Hispanic Black patients were 23% less likely than non-Hispanic white patients to receive either targeted therapy


• Most patients in the study were treated in the recurrent setting; we suspect that the potential barriers to guideline-concordant prescription of these therapeutics would persist in the upfront treatment setting, but future studies are required to validate this.


• A key area of focus to reduce disparities in access to targeted therapies should be ensuring adequate reimbursement for genetic/ biomarker testing as well as brainstorming creative solutions to expand access to genetic counseling, including the use of mainstreaming.


• Use of the SEER-Medicare database specifically reduces external validity of this study, but the results are nonetheless hypothesis generating and should spark conversation regarding potential inequitable receipt of PARP inhibitors and bevacizumab in advanced ovarian cancer