Industry payments to U.S. gynecologic oncologists: Gender, geographic, and therapeutic trends

Abstract

Objective

To evaluate gender- and geography-based differences in industry payments to U.S. gynecologic oncologists and to characterize temporal trends in payments across therapeutic classes.

Methods

We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Open Payments database from 2018 to 2024. All physicians listed as gynecologic oncologists were included, with general payments aggregated per physician. Payments were analyzed by physician gender, geographic region, and state. Drug-related payments were mapped to therapeutic classes relevant to gynecologic oncology, and temporal trends were examined descriptively.

Results

Overall 75,382 industry payments totaling $33.4 million were made to 2063 gynecologic oncologists (55.9% females, and 44.1% males). Males were overrepresented among the top 100 total earners (74% vs. 26%; p < .001). Compared with females, males received higher median total payments ($863 vs. $312), a greater number of payments (12 vs. 6), and higher mean single payments ($64 vs. $49; all p < .001). Regionally, the South accrued the highest total payments ($11.3 M), whereas mean single payments were highest in the West ($390). Drugs and biologics comprised 63.5% of all payments, dominated by PARP inhibitors, which peaked in 2019 and declined thereafter, while payments related to antibody–drug conjugates, immune checkpoint inhibitors, and tyrosine kinase inhibitors increased steadily and constituted the majority by 2024.

Conclusions

Industry payments to gynecologic oncologists demonstrate persistent gender and geographic diffrences and reflect evolving therapeutic priorities within the field. Increased transparency and proactive efforts are needed to promote balanced access to industry-sponsored opportunities as novel treatments emerge.