Racial Variation in Pain Medication Prescriptions Among Breast, Prostate, and Pancreatic Cancer Patients
A presentation abstract from the 2026 ASCO Annual Meeting examined racial differences in pain medication prescribing among more than 100,000 patients with breast, prostate, and pancreatic cancer treated in a large, nationally representative community oncology network. Researchers found clinically meaningful racial differences in time to pain medication initiation and strong opioid prescribing for breast and prostate cancer but not pancreatic cancer, with minoritized populations experiencing delays and Asian patients consistently receiving fewer strong opioid prescriptions. The authors conclude that inequities vary across malignancies and categories of pain medication, underscoring the need for culturally informed, cancer-specific interventions to promote equitable symptom management.