Foreword

Article Outline

• Copyright

The role of ethnicity and race in disease management is often a volatile issue in healthcare in general, and particularly in oncology. Issues of healthcare access and quality are becoming pre-eminent in our society, and outcomes in several malignancies have been linked to the socioeconomic status of the patient. Taken as a whole, these represent public health issues of enormous current importance. Large studies that properly account for such population-level effects are virtually impossible to design, and much of the existing data are hopelessly confounded by these factors. Dr. Brawley and his colleagues have contributed a series of insightful works on disparity within the oncology milieu. We would do well not only to familiarize ourselves with the state of current understanding on the subject, but to use the ideas and data presented in this issue of the Journal in our own practices, to design ways to minimize disparities—and thus maximize outcomes for all our patients—wherever and whenever we can.