Search

Diversifying the radiation oncology workforce is an urgent and unmet need. During the American Society of Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) 2019 Annual Meeting, ASTRO's Committee on Health Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (CHEDI) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) collaborated on the ASTRO-NCI Diversity Symposium, entitled ''Pathways for Recruiting and Retaining Women and Underrepresented Minority Clinicians and Physician Scientists Into the Radiation Oncology Workforce.'' Herein, we summarize the presented data and personal anecdotes with the goal of raising awareness of ongoing and future initiatives to improve recruitment and retention of underrepesented groups to radiation oncology. Common themes include the pivotal role of mentorship and standardized institutional practices – such as protected time and pay parity – as critical to achieving a more diverse and inclusive workplace.

Implicit bias is one of the most insidious and least recognizable mechanisms that can cause inequity and disparities. There is increasing evidence that both implicit and explicit biases have a negative effect on patient outcomes and patient-physician relationships. Given the impact of Implicit bias, a joint session between ASTROs Committee on Health Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion and the National Cancer Institute (the ASTRO-National Cancer Institute Diversity Symposium) was held during the American Society of Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) 2020 Annual Meeting, to address the effect of implicit bias in radiation oncology through real life and synthesized hypothetical scenario discussions. Given the value of this session to the radiation oncology community, the scenarios and discussion are summarized in this manuscript. Our goal is to heighten awareness of the multiple settings in which implicit bias can occur as well as discuss resources to address bias.

Since the emergence of HIV in the United States in the 1980s, cancer has been a part of the story. The good news is that antiretroviral therapy has improved survival for those living with HIV infection, with life expectancy now approaching that of uninfected people. Consequently, this patient population is living long enough to develop different types of cancer. At the 23rd NCCN Annual Conference, Gita Suneja, MD, MSHP, presented the debut of the new NCCN Guidelines for Cancer in People Living With HIV, discussing the intersection between cancer and HIV infection, the cancers most likely to develop in this group of patients, and the importance of oncologists working in conjunction with HIV specialists to render the most appropriate and individualized care., (Copyright © 2018 by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network.)