Startling Gaps in Transgender Treatment Evidence “Largely Ignored” in the US

The Cass Review has highlighted significant shortcomings in the evidence supporting the use of puberty blockers and hormones for transgender youth, advocating for a more holistic approach. While influential in the UK, the findings have been largely overlooked in the U.S., where medical associations continue to endorse gender-affirming treatments despite criticisms of the supporting evidence.

The newly released Cass Review on transgender care for young people has been pivotal in the UK, where the prescription of puberty “blocking” drugs outside of research protocols has now ceased.

But in the United States, where the treatment-intensive, “gender affirming” model of care is the norm, the impact of Cass’s four-year investigation and final report has been largely ignored, finds journalist Jennifer Block in The BMJ today (May 23).