0000000000530653
AUTHOR
Angela Lamarca
Gender representation in authorship in later-phase systemic clinical trials in biliary tract cancer (BTC).
348 Background: The proportion of females in medicine is increasing (approx. 50% in medical school/workforce), but disparities in female authorship in oncology research publications exist; female corresponding authorship reportedly ranges from 7.2-39.1% in oncology clinical trials (Ludmir et al 2019). This study aimed to describe and assess factors associated with female first and senior authorship in later phase systemic clinical trials in BTC and to identify any changes over time. Methods: Embase/Medline were used to identify final primary trial publications in BTC (2000-2020) (excluding phase I (PI) (expected to move to later phase), mixed tumour site trials, reviews, editorials and tri…
In the literature: June 2019
Biliary tract cancer (BTC) includes cholangiocarcinoma and gallbladder cancer. BTCs are known to have a poor prognosis, with a 5-year overall survival below 20%.1 Unfortunately, majority of patients are diagnosed with advanced stage, being palliative chemotherapy with cisplatin and gemcitabine the current standard of care.2 Poor prognosis is due to the fact that only 20% of patients are diagnosed in early stages3 and the high risk of relapse following curative surgery. Unfortunately, the lack of randomised studies has made the role of adjuvant treatment in BTC following surgery an unresolved matter for many years.4 5 Adjuvant therapy (either in the form of chemotherapy or chemoradiotherapy)…