Reporting of Rurality, Deprivation, and Socioeconomic Characteristics in Cancer Clinical Trials

How frequently are geographic, socioeconomic, and core demographic characteristics reported in randomized clinical trial primary publications in oncology?In this systematic review of 441 US-based randomized clinical trial primary reports, reporting of age and sex was common, and reporting of race and ethnicity has increased substantially over time. In contrast, reporting of rurality, income, education, insurance, and area-level deprivation was rare or wholly absent.Geographic and socioeconomic characteristics are rarely reported in primary cancer clinical publications, limiting the ability to assess generalizability and interpret findings across populations.

Corresponding Author: Joseph M. Unger, PhD, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, 1100 Fairview Ave N, M3-C102, PO Box 19024, Seattle, WA 98109-1024 (junger@fredhutch.org).

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