Inclusivity Across Exercise Oncology: A Focus on Sexual and Gender Minorities

Research regarding exercise oncology has progressed to include racial and ethnic minority populations in an effort to identify and address disparities, however sexual and gender minorities remain severely underrepresented. Sexual and gender minorities face unique barriers across the healthcare spectrum and are less likely to engage in clinical trials, limiting information gathered about prevalence of cancer, risk of cancer, and effects of exercise on cancer outcomes. In this narrative we will discuss the gap in oncological literature as it pertains to sexual and gender minorities including introducing and defining sexual and gender minority nomenclature, highlighting elevated cancer risks and survivorship trends, as well as a focus on lifestyle modifiable behaviors like exercise to explore potential targeted outcomes and barriers to participation to date.