Cross-sectional study of trends in racial and ethnic representation in the oncology trainee workflow in the US

Professional oncology societies have invested in initiatives to enhance the racial and ethnic representation of the oncology physician workforce. Whether these initiatives have contributed to changes in the racial or ethnic representation among oncology trainees and nononcology trainees who provide cancer-related care is unclear. A cross-sectional study assessed trends in the distribution of underrepresented in medicine (UriM) physician trainees over time. In this study of 658 891 physician trainee observation from Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education data form 2011 to 2025, the proportion of trainees UriM who provided cancer-related care increased from 16.1% in 2011 to 20.4% in 2025, including trainees in medical, radiation, and surgical oncology; general surgery; and primary care. After 2020, representation increased, although this was not significant in each specialty. The authors conclude that these findings suggest that while representation among trainees providing cancer-related care has increased, it remains well below the that of underrepresented races in the general US population.