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Impact of Neighborhood Racial Composition and Metropolitan Residential Segregation on Disparities in Breast Cancer Stage at Diagnosis and Survival Between Black and White Women in California

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Abstract

We examined the impact of metropolitan racial residential segregation on stage at diagnosis and all-cause and breast cancer-specific survival between and within black and white women diagnosed with breast cancer in California between 1996 and 2004. We merged data from the California Cancer Registry with Census indices of five dimensions of racial residential segregation, quantifying segregation among Blacks relative to Whites; block group (“neighborhood”) measures of the percentage of Blacks and a composite measure of socioeconomic status. We also examined simultaneous segregation on at least two measures (“hypersegregation”). Using logistic regression we examined effects of these measures on stage at diagnosis and Cox proportional hazards regression for survival. For all-cause and breast-cancer specific mortality, living in neighborhoods with more Blacks was associated with lower mortality among black women, but higher mortality among Whites. However, neighborhood racial composition and metropolitan segregation did not explain differences in stage or survival between Black and White women. Future research should identify mechanisms by which these measures impact breast cancer diagnosis and outcomes among Black women.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by National Cancer Institute grants R03 CA117324-01A1 and R25CA78583 and a SEER Rapid Response Surveillance Study under the National Cancer Institute contract N01-PC-35136. Additional support was provided by National Institutes of Health grant 5R25GMO55353-12. The collection of cancer incidence data used in this study was supported by the California Department of Health Services as part of the statewide cancer reporting program mandated by California Health and Safety Code Section 103885; the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Program under contract N01-PC-35136 awarded to the NCCC, contract N01-PC-35139 awarded to the University of Southern California, and contract N02-PC-15105 awarded to the Public Health Institute; and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Program of Cancer Registries.

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  1. Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Kresge Building, 677 Huntington Ave, 9th Floor, Boston, MA, 02115, USA

    Erica T. Warner

  2. Northern California Cancer Center, 2201 Walnut Avenue, Suite 300, Fremont, CA, 94538-2334, USA

    Scarlett Lin Gomez

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Correspondence to Erica T. Warner.

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Warner, E.T., Gomez, S.L. Impact of Neighborhood Racial Composition and Metropolitan Residential Segregation on Disparities in Breast Cancer Stage at Diagnosis and Survival Between Black and White Women in California. J Community Health 35, 398–408 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-010-9265-2

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