A call to action: Antiracist patient engagement in adolescent and young adult oncology research and advocacy

Amidst the concurrent global crises of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), uprisings against Anti-Black racism and police brutality, as well as anti-Asian racism and violence, the field of medicine found itself simultaneously called upon to respond as essential workers in the public health devastation of COVID-19, and as representatives of healthcare institutions wrought with the impacts of systemic racism. Clinicians, researchers, and advocates in adolescent and young adult (AYA) oncology, must come together in authentic activism to begin the work of creating structural change to advance antiracist approaches to patient engagement in AYA oncology research and advocacy. Critical review of existing practices is needed to ensure that ethical and effective research methods are employed when engaging with racial and ethnic minority AYA patients with cancer, who may be particularly vulnerable and exploited in the current context.

Improving Health Equity and Reducing Disparities in Pediatric and Adolescent/Young Adult Oncology: In Support of Clinical Practice Guidelines

Despite extraordinary strides in cancer therapy over the past 30 years, racial/ethnic, socioeconomic, and age-related survival disparities persist. Hodgkin lymphoma offers an excellent paradigm to understand these disparities because successful approaches are well established in both the up-front and relapsed treatment settings. The following review, which accompanies the 2021 NCCN Guidelines for Pediatric Hodgkin Lymphoma, suggests that systemic inequities in cancer care disproportionately affect minority and low-income children, adolescents, and young adults, and directly contribute to observed disparities in cancer-related outcomes. It proposes that the first step toward reducing disparities is large-scale dissemination of guidelines, because equity is best achieved when treatment approaches are clear, comprehensive, and standardized across all clinical practice settings.