When We Tri(al)
What is a clinical trial?
Clinical trials are research studies in which people volunteer to try new therapies and interventions (under careful supervision) in order to help doctors identify the best treatment plans with the fewest side effects. These studies help improve the overall standard of care (the treatment regimen that most physicians and experts widely agree is the most effective and appropriate for a specific subtype and stage of breast cancer). Clinical trials are an important step in discovering new treatments for breast cancer and other diseases as well as new ways to detect, diagnose, and reduce the risk of disease.
On average, a new medicine to treat breast cancer has been studied for at least 6 years (and sometimes many more) before a clinical trial on it is started. Clinical trials show researchers what does and doesn’t work in people. Clinical trials also help researchers and doctors decide if the side effects of a new treatment are acceptable when weighed against the benefits offered by the new treatment. Because clinical trials are required for FDA approval, every medication–even Tylenol, Benadryl, Aspirin, Tums, etc.--has gone through a clinical trial.
In addition to exploring new medications, clinical trials also increase our understanding of all the factors that can influence breast cancer diagnosis and survival: diet, exercise, environmental factors, genetics, stress, and many more.
To learn more about the specifics of clinical trials, visit Breastcancer.org.
Know the Facts 
Black women are 41% more likely to die from breast cancer than white women. Know the facts. Change the numbers.
Why should Black women diagnosed with breast cancer consider participating in clinical trials?
When we tri(al), we set a new standard of care.
Black Breast Cancer (n.)— the constellation of exposures, experiences, and lack of science for Black women diagnosed with breast cancer that causes Black women to face disproportionately worse breast cancer outcomes.
- Black women are 41% more likely to die of breast cancer than white women, with Black breast cancer patients experiencing the lowest 5-year survival rate of any race or ethnicity. Overall 5-year relative survival rates are 81% for Black women vs 91% for white women. Learn more.
- Black women under 35 get breast cancer at twice the rate and die at three times the rate. Learn more.
- A 2021 study published in Cancer Medicine found that Black women have a nearly three-fold increased risk of Triple Negative Breast Cancer–an aggressive subtype of breast cancer. Learn more.
Despite these disturbing statistics, Black women are largely excluded from trials that study breast cancer drugs and treatments. With low participation rates in clinical trials, Black women miss access to newly emerging and often life-extending treatments not otherwise available. But more than that, clinical trials are used to answer major questions: Does the new treatment or procedure work? Is what's being tested better than what's being used now? Does it cause more or fewer side effects?
The majority of breast cancer clinical trial participants are white women, which means that these fundamental questions aren’t being answered for Black women’s bodies. As documented by JCO Precision Oncology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and many others, Black women experience many cancer drug side effects differently, so what other aspects of treatment are not the same for Black breast cancer patients?
Trial data, resulting treatment protocols, and product development don’t account for the many factors of Black Breast Cancer. We will not be able to change the devastating Black Breast Cancer mortality numbers unless we understand the physiology of Black women. We cannot do that until we have more Black women participating in clinical research.
To learn more about Black Breast Cancer and clinical trials, visit TOUCH, The Black Breast Cancer Alliance.
