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Women from racial minority groups experienced delayed breast cancer surgery regardless of distance traveled, revealing persistent care disparities. 

Researchers conducted a study published in June 2025 in the issue of American Journal of Surgery to examine whether the distance traveled to surgical facilities was associated with timely breast cancer surgery among women diagnosed with breast cancer in Georgia. 

They investigated data from electronic health records of women diagnosed with stage I–III breast cancer between 2004 and 2020 who underwent upfront surgery. Race was self-identified, and the crow-fly distance between the patient residence and the surgical facility was calculated and used multivariable logistic regression to assess associations between time to surgery, self-reported race, and travel distance. 

The results showed that among 18,240 patients (White = 61%, Black = 39%), the median distance to surgery was 11.4 miles (IQR: 5.9, 19.6). Individuals identifying as Black had about half the odds of receiving surgery within 60 days of diagnosis (OR = 0.52, 95% CI: 0.47–0.56), while distance traveled showed no association with surgical timing. 

Investigators concluded that identifying factors contributing to delays in surgical care was essential to addressing disparities in breast cancer outcomes. 

Source: https://www.americanjournalofsurgery.com/article/S0002-9610(25)00307-1/abstract