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Review
. 2025 Oct:60:102493.
doi: 10.1016/j.tranon.2025.102493. Epub 2025 Aug 8.

Diversity and inclusivity in oncology: A narrative review and orientation for institutional measures in Germany

Hendrik Dapper  1 , Sabine Oertelt-Prigione  2 , Gertraud Stadler  3 , Nina Weishaupt  4 , Alexander Quaas  5 , Vanessa Romotzky  6 , Lena Haarmann  7 , Emmanouil Fokas  4 , Jiaqi Fan  4 , Philipp Linde  4 , Thomas Zander  8 , Martin Görner  9 , Laura Wortmann  10
Affiliations
Review

Diversity and inclusivity in oncology: A narrative review and orientation for institutional measures in Germany

Hendrik Dapper et al. Transl Oncol. 2025 Oct.

Abstract

  1. •

    Diversity remains underrepresented in oncology care and research in Germany.

  2. •

    Several domains such as biological sex and age affect cancer therapy efficacy and toxicity.

  3. •

    Socioeconomic disadvantage reduces access to screening and trial participation.

  4. •

    Inclusive strategies are needed in clinical care, trials, and institutional structures.

  5. •

    Practical, scalable recommendations are proposed for German oncology departments.

Keywords: Diversity; Gender; Inclusion; Oncology & radiation oncology; Research; Sex.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Image, graphical abstract
Graphical abstract
Fig 1
Fig. 1
Overview of key challenges related to diversity and inclusion in oncology and initial recommendations for diversity-sensitive oncological care (1), teams (2) and research (3).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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