Gender Disparities in Concerns of Cancer Research Participation During COVID-19 Climate

Abstract

The unprecedented threat of COVID-19 has taken its toll on the field of cancer research, with trial accrual rates seeing a sharp decline since the beginning of the pandemic. Recent evidence has suggested that decreased participation appears to be more pronounced in women than men, which raises concerns about an exacerbation of gender bias in research. The following manuscript is a commentary article to the recent study by Fox et al, who aimed at investigating the concerns of patients with regard to participating to cancer research, as well as examining potential gender disparities within their sample population. We provide a brief critique of their work, especially focusing on important limitations concerning sample size and under-representation of ethnic minority groups, before discussing their findings in light of current literature on gender differences in anxiety and risk perception, how this might be interpreted in the context of the current pandemic, and its impact on participation in cancer research. We present multiple lines of evidence which support the idea that women might experience greater anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic which could have a significant impact on cancer research participation and consequently the external validity of studies in the field. The first attempts to tackle these challenges have shown promise, but further research is required to perfect this process and target those groups who are at greatest need of intervention.