On Sunday, January 12, 2025, Dr. Eric Winer interviewed Ian Krop, MD, Professor of Internal Medicine (Medical Oncology) and Director of the Clinical Trials Office at Yale Cancer Center and Alyssa Gateman, MPH, CCRP, Executive Director of the Yale Cancer Center Clinical Trials Office. Dr. Krop is an international leader in the clinical care of patients with breast cancer and Ms. Gateman works to ensure that all patients on clinical trials are protected.
On this episode of Yale Cancer Answers, Dr. Krop and Ms. Gateman explain the process of enrolling in a clinical trial and why it is so important to provide access to all patients. As potential drug treatments become increasingly focused, the need for more trials is critical and they need to include more diverse patients. A publication last year in JAMA showed that up to 40% of clinical trials had no underrepresented patients. "It’s important to have representation of these populations because we have to understand, before these drugs become FDA-approved for commercial use, how these drugs are going to act in all patients in terms of benefits and toxicities," said Dr. Krop.