Do Tobacco Treatment Trials Address Disparities in Smoking Outcomes Among Black and Hispanic Cancer Patients? A Systematic Review of Smoking Cessation Interventions for Black and Hispanic Patients Diagnosed with Cancer

Giselle K Perez; Julia T Rabin; Megha Tandon; Nicole M Strauss; Kelly Irwin; Lisa Philpotts; Jamie Ostroff; Elyse R Park

doi:10.1007/s40615-023-01705-3

Do Tobacco Treatment Trials Address Disparities in Smoking Outcomes Among Black and Hispanic Cancer Patients? A Systematic Review of Smoking Cessation Interventions for Black and Hispanic Patients Diagnosed with Cancer

J Racial Ethn Health Disparities. 2023 Jul 19. doi: 10.1007/s40615-023-01705-3. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Giselle K Perez^{1

2}, Julia T Rabin³, Megha Tandon⁴, Nicole M Strauss⁵, Kelly Irwin^{6

7}, Lisa Philpotts⁶, Jamie Ostroff⁸, Elyse R Park^{6

7}

Affiliations

¹ Harvard Medical School/Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA. gperez@mgh.harvard.edu.
² Health Promotion and Resilience Intervention Research Program, 100 Cambridge Street, 16th floor, Boston, MA, 02114, USA. gperez@mgh.harvard.edu.
³ Department of Psychology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA.
⁴ Tufts University, Medford, MA, USA.
⁵ Bamboo Health, Boston, MA, USA.
⁶ Harvard Medical School/Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
⁷ Health Promotion and Resilience Intervention Research Program, 100 Cambridge Street, 16th floor, Boston, MA, 02114, USA.
⁸ Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA.

PMID: 37468742
DOI: 10.1007/s40615-023-01705-3

Abstract

Objective: To characterize the representation of Black and Hispanic cancer patients in tobacco treatment trials, and to offer recommendations for future research.

Methods: We conducted two systematic searches of the literature (2018, 2021) using 5 databases (MEDLINE via EBSCO, Pubmed, PsycInfo, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Excerpta Medica Database (EMBASE)) to examine the prevalence of tobacco trials that included Black or Hispanic cancer patients. Two coders independently screened all articles at title, abstract, and full-text to identify eligible trials. Information about the proportion of Black and Hispanic patients included, trial design features, and whether the authors analyzed outcomes for Black and Hispanic patients were documented.

Results: Of 4682 identified studies, only 10 published trials included and reported on the rates of Black or Hispanic cancer patients enrolled in their tobacco trial. The proportion of enrolled Black cancer patients ranged from 2 to 55.6%. Only our studies documented enrollment rates for Hispanics, and rates were less than 6%. None of the studies offered strategies to promote or the accrual of Black or Hispanic patients.

Discussion: There remains a large gap in the literature regarding the reach and efficacy of tobacco treatment for Black and Hispanic cancer patients. Black and Hispanic cancer patients remain largely under-represented in tobacco cessation trials, limiting the applicability of existing, evidence-based treatments. To optimize intervention generalizability, future studies should emphasize the targeted recruitment and engagement of these patients in tobacco trials.

Keywords: Cancer disparities; Clinical trial participation; Tobacco and health; Tobacco treatment.

Publication types

Review

Abstract

Publication types

Grants and funding