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LISTEN: “People get better care when we know who they are.” That belief is at the heart of why scientists and LGBTQ+ health advocates oppose a new rule that makes it harder to collect data on trans patients with cancer. ϳԹ News correspondent Rachana Pradhan appeared on WAMU’s Health Hub on Dec. 10 about the change from the Trump administration.
In 2026, the Trump administration will require U.S. cancer registries that receive federal funding to classify patients’ sex as male, female — or not stated/unknown. That last category is for when a “patient’s sex is documented as other than male or female (e.g., non-binary, transsexual), and there is no additional information about sex assigned at birth,” the new standard says.
LGBTQ+ health advocates say that move in effect erases transgender and other patients from the data. They say the data collection change is the latest move by the Trump administration that restricts health care resources for LGBTQ+ people.
ϳԹ News correspondent Rachana Pradhan appeared on WAMU’s Health Hub on Dec. 10 to explain why LGBTQ+ health advocates worry this change could hurt public health and the care patients receive.
Under Trump policies, cancer registries in 2026 will have to classify sex data strictly as male, female, or unknown, a change scientists and advocates say will harm the health of one of the nation’s most marginalized populations.
