One of our editors (whose career service has been in the top government agencies that serve important international roles in public health and regulatory operations and policy) has shared with us the following updated language guidance in scientific and clinical writing that respects patients’ individual rights and dignity:

There has been a shift to using Patient-First Language to recognize that patients are people first and not defined by the diseases or disorders they are experiencing.

For example, instead of saying “HCC patients,” please change the text to read “patients with HCC”.

Filipodia supports this Patient-First Language and encourages its editors to follow suit in their service.