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Review
. 2018 Mar;29(3):371-377.
doi: 10.1007/s10552-018-1009-0. Epub 2018 Feb 8.

Geospatial approaches to cancer control and population sciences at the United States cancer centers

Robert W Korycinski  1 , Bethany L Tennant  2 , Michelle A Cawley  2 , Bonny Bloodgood  2 , April Y Oh  3 , David Berrigan  3
Affiliations
Review

Geospatial approaches to cancer control and population sciences at the United States cancer centers

Robert W Korycinski et al. Cancer Causes Control. 2018 Mar.

Abstract

Purpose: Geospatial, contextual, and multilevel research is integral to cancer prevention and control. NCI-designated Cancer Centers are at the forefront of cancer research; therefore, this paper sought to review the geospatial, contextual, and multilevel research at these cancer centers.

Methods: Investigators used PubMed and Web of Science to compile geospatial publications from 1971 to February 2016 with cancer center-affiliated authors. Relevant abstracts were pulled and classified by six geospatial approaches, eight geospatial scales, and eight cancer sites.

Results: The searches identified 802 geospatial, contextual, and multilevel publications with authors affiliated at 60 of the 68 NCI-designated Cancer Centers. Over 90% were published after 2000. Five cancer centers accounted for approximately 50% of total publications, and 30 cancer centers accounted for over 85% of total publications. Publications covered all geospatial approaches and scales to varying degrees, and 90% dealt with cancer.

Conclusions: The NCI-designated Cancer Center network is increasingly pursuing geospatial, contextual, and multilevel cancer research, although many cancer centers still conduct limited to no research in this area. Expanding geospatial efforts to research programs across all cancer centers will further enrich cancer prevention and control. Similar reviews may benefit other domestic and international cancer research institutions.

Keywords: Cancer; Contextual; Geography; Geospatial; Multilevel; Neighborhood.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Cumulative percentage of geospatial publications across NCI-designated Cancer Centers. The upper line assigns abstracts with two or more distinct cancer center affiliations to the cancer center with the most geospatial publications. The lower line assigns abstracts with two or more distinct cancer center affiliations to the cancer center with the fewest geospatial publications. The circular markers represent 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, and 68 cancer centers, respectively
Fig. 2a
Fig. 2a
Number of publications per geospatial approach
Fig. 2b
Fig. 2b
Number of publications per cancer site
Fig. 2c
Fig. 2c
Number of publications per geospatial scale
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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