Dear ASCO

Dear ASCO, I truly ❤️ you. Please take this as nothing other than ongoing constructive criticism from your biggest fan.

Every few years the same article resurfaces like a rerun no one asked for. New title, same story. Clinical trials remain out of reach. Seven percent participation. Underrepresentation by race, geography, age. Barriers, burdens, inequities. I could swap the date on this and it would still read true for 2006, 2016, or 2026.

ASCO’s latest report talks about decentralization, telehealth, and meeting patients where they are. Admirable goals. But those words have been printed for decades while the system keeps protecting its own inertia. Clinical research lives in a gated community called Academia. Community oncologists are rarely invited inside. Patients with real lives, jobs, kids, bills, cannot drive three hours for a blood draw or fight insurance to cover parking, much less caregiving.

Decentralized trials sound nice until you realize no one funds the infrastructure for them. No broadband. No clinical staff. No time. No incentive. Sponsors still pick sites based on institutional prestige, not patient need. The result is trials that do not reflect the people they are supposed to help. Progress stuck on repeat.

I get why my colleague sighed. We are reading the same script again while calling it reform.

If this hits home, toss it a like, a restack or comment. One click makes a bigger difference than you think.

Are you new here? First off, my condolences. But welcome. Glad you found me. Stick around, hit follow, and help me get to 50,000 follower goal by year’s end. The more of us here, the harder we are to ignore.

SOURCE ➡️ https://www.asco.org/news-initiatives/policy-news-analysis/making-clinical-trials-more-accessible-new-report-highlights-barriers-solutions?cmpid=ez_ascoorg_centra_socca_sno_linkedin_all__dom_100625____aware_image-quote_clinicaltrialsspecialarticle-linkedin