Late-stage cancer higher in city-dwellers

[Posted: Mon 11/05/2009]

People who live in large cities and urban areas are more likely to be diagnosed with late-stage cancer than those who live in rural areas, a new study has found.

Researchers from the University of Illinois looked at cancer registry data from 1998 to 2002 to investigate the rural and urban differences in late-stage cancer diagnoses.

Looking at breast, colorectal, lung, and prostate cancers, the study found that for all four cancers, risk was highest in the most highly urbanised area (Chicago) and decreased as areas became more rural.

The risk was also considerably low among people living in large rural towns. However, in the most isolated rural areas, risk was also high.

Previous studies have found that geography can affect the timing of cancer diagnoses, research on rural-urban disparities has produced mixed and conflicting findings.

“The concentration of health disadvantage in highly urbanised places emphasises the need for more extensive urban-based cancer screening and education programs, especially programmes targeted to the most vulnerable urban populations and neighbourhoods,” the authors of the study said.

The study was published in the American Cancer Society’s journal Cancer.