Exploring the ethical use of race in cancer research

To determine if race was used biologically, socially, or both ways in oncology cooperative group trials.

The National Institute of Health defines race as a social construct that groups people based on physical appearance, social factors, and cultural background. While the use of race may no longer be as problematic as it once was, race is still sometimes misused in scientific research. This misuse can contribute to the belief that there is a biological difference between racial groups, warranting unequal and unjust treatment.

We analyzed 32 research articles from 2002 to 2011 and 100 articles from 2016 to 2023 conducted by seven prominent cooperative cancer groups-NCORP, NRG, ECOG, Alliance, SWOG, COG, and ACRIN-to describe how race is used either as a socially, biologically, or both.

Eleven of the 32 early articles and 62 of the 100 later articles used race to answer the question posed or the hypothesis. 6/11(55%) early articles and 38/62(61%) later articles used race as a social construct, 2/11(18%) and 4/62(6%) used race biologically, and 3/11(27%) and 11/62(18%) used race both ways. The remaining 9(15%) of the later articles did not use race biologically or socially and were labeled Neither.

Scientific articles should use race as a social construct. Although most articles used race appropriately, the few that did not or were unclear show that there needs to be a greater awareness of the impact of language about race in scientific studies. Correctly using race is crucial to ethical research.