Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Feb 6;33(2):279-287.
doi: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-22-1255.

A Multiscale Spatiotemporal Epidemiological Analysis of Neighborhood Correlates of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

Erica Goldfinger #  1   2 , Justin Stoler #  1   2   3 , Neha Goel  4   5   6
Affiliations

A Multiscale Spatiotemporal Epidemiological Analysis of Neighborhood Correlates of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

Erica Goldfinger et al. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. .

Abstract

Background: Women living in disadvantaged neighborhoods present with increased prevalence rates of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). This study takes a spatiotemporal epidemiological approach to understand the impact of socioenvironmental contextual factors on TNBC prevalence rates.

Methods: We analyzed 935 TNBC cases from a major cancer center registry, between 2005 and 2017, to explore spatial and space-time clusters of TNBC prevalence rates at the census tract and neighborhood scales. Spatial regression analysis was performed to examine relationships between nine socioenvironmental factors and TNBC prevalence rates at both ecological scales.

Results: We observed spatial clustering of high TNBC prevalence rates along a north-south corridor of Miami-Dade County along Interstate 95, a region containing several majority non-Hispanic Black neighborhoods. Among the ecologic measures, the percent of a region designated as a brownfield was associated with TNBC prevalence rates at the tract-level (β = 4.27; SE = 1.08; P < 0.001) and neighborhood-level (β = 8.61; SE = 2.20; P < 0.001).

Conclusions: Our spatiotemporal analysis identified robust patterns of hot spots of TNBC prevalence rates in a corridor of several disadvantaged neighborhoods in the northern half of the county. These patterns of TNBC align with the literature regarding at-risk groups and neighborhood-level effects on TNBC; however, remain to be validated in a population-based sample.

Impact: Spatial epidemiological approaches can help public health officials and cancer care providers improve place-specific screening, patient care, and understanding of socioenvironmental factors that may shape breast cancer subtype through gene-environment and epigenetic interactions.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare no potential conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Race and ethnicity patterns in Miami-Dade County. Racial and ethnic groups (White Non-Hispanic, Black Non-Hispanic, and Hispanic) are visualized at the census tract level and contextualized with neighborhood boundaries.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Spatial analysis of triple negative breast cancer cases aggregated by census tract. The panels highlight: (A) the distribution of 935 triple negative breast cancer diagnosed between 2005 and 2017 in Miami-Dade County, (B) hot and cold spots identified by spatial cluster analysis, and (C) different forms of space-time clusters identified by spatiotemporal cluster analysis.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Spatial analysis of triple negative breast cancer cases aggregated by neighborhood. The panels highlight: (A) the distribution of 935 triple negative breast cancer diagnosed between 2005 and 2017 in Miami-Dade County, (B) hot and cold spots identified by spatial cluster analysis, and (C) different forms of space-time clusters identified by spatiotemporal cluster analysis.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Goel N, Yadegarynia S, Kwon D, Kesmodel SB, Harbour JW, Kobetz E, et al. Translational Epidemiology: An Integrative Approach to Determine the Interplay Between Genetic Ancestry and Neighborhood Socioeconomic Status on Triple Negative Breast Cancer. Ann Surg. 2022;276:430–40. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kohler BA, Sherman RL, Howlader N, Jemal A, Ryerson AB, Henry KA, et al. Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer, 1975–2011, Featuring Incidence of Breast Cancer Subtypes by Race/Ethnicity, Poverty, and State. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2015;107:djv048. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Goel N, Yadegarynia S, Lubarsky M, Choi S, Kelly K, Balise R, et al. Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Breast Cancer Survival: Emergence of a Clinically Distinct Hispanic Black Population. Ann Surg. 2021;274:e269. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Pinheiro PS, Callahan KE, Ragin C, Hage RW, Hylton T, Kobetz EN. Black heterogeneity in cancer mortality: US-Blacks, Haitians, and Jamaicans. Cancer Control. 2016;23:347–58. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Linnenbringer E, Geronimus AT, Davis KL, Bound J, Ellis L, Gomez SL. Associations between breast cancer subtype and neighborhood socioeconomic and racial composition among Black and White women. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2020;180:437–47. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources