Recent Trends in "Manels" and Gender Representation Among Panelists at North American Annual Radiation Oncology Meetings

PURPOSE

Achieving gender equity in radiation oncology is an important goal, as a smaller proportion of women enter radiation oncology residency compared with those graduating from medical school. As invited speaking opportunities at academic medical conferences are vital for promotion/tenure, we investigated the prevalence of all-men panels ("manels") at American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) and Canadian Society of Radiation Oncology (CARO) annual meetings.

METHODS AND MATERIALS

Using ASTRO and CARO online meeting programs, 2018 to 2021 faculty information was obtained, including gender, panel role (chair vs nonchair), type of session, and topic. Primary outcomes included percentage of manels and proportion of female panelists over time. Representation of women among chairs was also evaluated.

RESULTS

Over the 4-year study period across both conferences, a total of 765 panel sessions were held with 2973 faculty members, of whom 1287 (43.3%) were women. Of these sessions, 127 of 765 (16.6%) were manels. ASTRO meetings had 1169 of 2742 (42.6%) female faculty members and held 107 of 680 (15.7%) manels, whereas CARO meetings had 118 of 231 (51.1%) female faculty and held 20 of 85 manels (23.5%). From 2018 to 2021, the proportion of manels decreased at ASTRO and CARO meetings from 25.6% to 8.2% (P < .001) and from 29.6% to 15.0% (P = .130), respectively. The role of chair was majority male in every year from 2018 to 2021 at ASTRO meetings (58.6% overall), but more balanced at CARO meetings (48.0% overall). Among session types, the highest proportion of manels was observed for scientific sessions (19.1%, P = .011) at ASTRO meetings and leadership sessions (29.4%, P = .533) at CARO meetings. The lowest proportion of female panelists was on genitourinary cancer topics at ASTRO meetings (31.9%, P = .018) and physics topics at CARO meetings (40.4%, P = .085).

CONCLUSIONS

During the study period, the proportion of female panelists increased with a corresponding decrease in manels. ASTRO and CARO should strive for further involvement of women and the elimination of manels whenever possible.

US Cancer Mortality Trends Among Hispanic Populations From 1999 to 2020

Importance

Advances in cancer research and treatment access have led to decreasing cancer mortality in the US; however, cancer remains the leading cause of death among Hispanic individuals.

Objective

To evaluate longitudinal cancer mortality trends from 1999 to 2020 among Hispanic individuals by demographic characteristics and to compare age-adjusted cancer death rates between the Hispanic population and other racial and ethnic populations during 2000, 2010, and 2020.

Design, Setting, and Participants

This cross-sectional study obtained age-adjusted cancer death rates among Hispanic individuals of all ages between January 1999 and December 2020, using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention WONDER database. Cancer death rates in other racial and ethnic populations were extracted for 2000, 2010, and 2020. Data were analyzed from October 2021 to December 2022.

Exposures

Age, gender, race, ethnicity, cancer type, and US census region.

Main Outcomes and Measures

Trends and average annual percent changes (AAPCs) in age-adjusted cancer-specific mortality (CSM) rates among Hispanic individuals were estimated by cancer type, age, gender, and region.

Results

From 1999 to 2020, 12 644 869 patients died of cancer in the US, of whom 690 677 (5.5%) were Hispanic; 58 783 (0.5%) were non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native; 305 386 (2.4%), non-Hispanic Asian or Pacific Islander; 1 439 259 (11.4%), non-Hispanic Black or African American; and 10 124 361 (80.1%), non-Hispanic White. For 26 403 patients (0.2%), no ethnicity was stated. The overall CSM rate among Hispanic individuals decreased by 1.3% (95% CI, 1.2%-1.3%) annually. Overall CSM rate decreased more for Hispanic men (AAPC, -1.6%; 95% CI, -1.7% to -1.5%) compared with women (AAPC, -1.0%; 95% CI, -1.0% to -0.9%). While death rates among Hispanic individuals decreased for most cancer types, mortality rates for liver cancer (AAPC, 1.0%; 95% CI, 0.6%-1.4%) increased among Hispanic men, and rates of liver (AAPC, 1.0%; 95% CI, 0.8%-1.3%), pancreas (AAPC, 0.2%; 95% CI, 0.1%-0.4%), and uterine (AAPC, 1.6%; 95% CI, 1.0%-2.3%) cancers increased among Hispanic women. Overall CSM rates increased for Hispanic men aged 25 to 34 years (AAPC, 0.7%; 95% CI, 0.3%-1.1%). By US region, liver cancer mortality rates increased significantly in the West for both Hispanic men (AAPC, 1.6%; 95% CI, 0.9%-2.2%) and Hispanic women (AAPC, 1.5%; 95% CI, 1.1%-1.9%). There were differential findings in mortality rates when comparing Hispanic individuals with individuals belonging to other racial and ethnic populations.

Conclusions and Relevance

In this cross-sectional study, despite overall CSM decreasing over 2 decades among Hispanic individuals, disaggregation of data demonstrated that rates of liver cancer deaths among Hispanic men and women and pancreas and uterine cancer deaths among Hispanic women increased from 1999 to 2020. There were also disparities in CSM rates among age groups and US regions. The findings suggest that sustainable solutions need to be implemented to reverse these trends among Hispanic populations.

Reactive oxygen species damaged human serum albumin in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

The role of reactive oxygen species (ROS) damaged human serum albumin (HSA) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has been investigated in the present study. HSA was modified by hydroxyl radical. Modification occurred in HSA was characterized by physico-chemical techniques. ROS modified HSA was found to be highly immunogenic in rabbits. The binding characteristics of circulating antibodies in HCC patients against native and ROS-modified HSA were assessed. HCC patients (n = 31) were examined by direct binding ELISA and their results were compared with healthy age-matched controls (n = 22). High degree of specific binding by 77.4% of HCC sera towards ROS-HSA, in comparison to its native analogue (p < 0.05) was observed. Competitive ELISA reiterates the direct binding results. Gel retardation assay further substantiated the enhanced recognition of ROS-HSA by circulating antibodies in HCC patients. The increase in total serum protein carbonyl levels in the HCC patients was largely due to an increase in oxidized albumin. Purified HSA of HCC patients (HCC-HSA) contained higher levels of carbonyls than HSA of normal subjects (normal-HSA) (p < 0.01). HCC-HSA was conformationally altered, with more exposure of its hydrophobic regions. Collectively, the oxidation of plasma proteins, especially HSA, might enhance oxidative stress in HCC patients.