Residential context has larger impact on ovarian cancer survival in Black women

A study published in JAMA Network Open on August 10 reveals that residential context has a stronger association with survival for Black women than White women diagnosed with epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). Francesmary Modugno, Ph.D., M.P.H. from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine led a retrospective observational cohort study analyzing data from 509 Black women and 2,035 White women diagnosed with EOC.

The research found that Black women were more likely to be diagnosed at an advanced stage (68.0% vs. 62.6%) and were less likely to have high-grade serous cancers (50.3% vs. 53.2%). Black women had a higher adjusted hazard ratio (AHR) of 1.45 for overall survival compared to White women, indicating worse survival odds. The study also revealed that living in areas with greater social vulnerability was associated with worse overall survival for Black women (AHR, 1.20), with a significantly greater impact for Black than White women (AHR, 1.77 vs. 1.10).

This effect was 32.5% greater than the main effects of social vulnerability index (SVI) and race combined. While the hazard of death was not explained solely by SVI, race and SVI interactions accounted for 16.4% of the excess relative risk in Black women's mortality relative to White women.