WB: Shorter Survival in Disadvantaged Neighborhoods

Breast cancer-specific survival is shorter in women from disadvantaged neighborhoods versus advantaged
neighborhoods, according to a study published in JAMA Network Open. Neha Goel, MD, and colleagues
investigated neighborhood socioeconomic status and breast cancer-specific survival among a majority-minority
population. The analysis included 5,027 women with stage 1-4 breast cancer treated at an NCI-designated
cancer center and sister safety-net hospital with a mean follow-up time of 60.3 months. Women living in
the most disadvantaged neighborhoods (tertile 3) had shorter breast cancer-specific survival versus those
living in the most advantaged neighborhoods (tertile 1) when controlling for individual-level sociodemographic, comorbidity,breast cancer risk factor, access to care, tumor, and NCCN guideline-concordant treatment characteristics (HR, 1.29). “This study suggests unaccounted mechanisms associated with breast cancer-specific survival, such as unmeasured social and access to care barriers, and lays the foundation for future research   evaluating  whether neighborhood disadvantage leads to more aggressive tumor biologic factors through theaccumulation of social and environmental stressors,” the study authors wrote.