County-level socioeconomic status, rurality, and second primary cancer risk among breast cancer survivors in the United States

Abstract

Background Breast cancer survivors have an increased risk of second primary cancers (SPCs), the role of county-level socioeconomic status and rurality—factors that may influence access to treatment, surveillance, and preventive care—remains understudied. Methods We identified 721,957 women with localized/regional first primary breast cancer who survived ≥ 1 year in 17 Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results registries (2000–2018). We used Cox regression to assess associations between county-level median household income (proxy for socioeconomic status), rurality, and their joint effects on invasive SPC risk, adjusting for demographic and clinical factors. We examined risk for all SPCs, non-breast SPCs, and the three most common SPC sites (breast, lung/bronchus, colorectal). Models were further stratified by index breast cancer characteristics. Results During 6.1 median years of follow-up, 65,954 survivors developed an SPC (42,400 non-breast; 23,554 breast, 8,338 lung/bronchus, 5,442 colorectal). Survivors from lower-income counties had higher SPC risk (< $50,000 vs. ≥ $75,000: HR = 1.07, 95% CI = 1.04–1.10), driven by lung/bronchus (HR = 1.32, 95% CI = 1.23–1.42) and colorectal cancers (HR = 1.19, 95% CI = 1.09–1.31). Lung/bronchus cancer risk was stronger among younger (age < 50: HR = 1.95, 95% CI = 1.59–2.39, age ≥ 50: HR = 1.20, 95% CI = 1.12–1.28; p interaction < 0.001) and Estrogen Receptor (ER)-negative survivors (ER negative: HR = 1.50, 95% CI = 1.31–1.72; ER positive: HR = 1.21, 95% CI = 1.12–1.30; p interaction = 0.02). Survivors from rural counties had higher SPC risk compared with most urban counties (HR range:1.07–1.12), especially for lung/bronchus cancer in younger (age < 50: HR = 1.66, 95% CI = 1.34–2.05, age ≥ 50: HR = 1.13, 95% CI = 1.06–1.21; p interaction = 0.001) and ER-negative survivors (ER negative: HR = 1.45, 95% CI = 1.26–1.67; ER positive: HR = 1.11, 95% CI = 1.03–1.20; p interaction = 0.001). Survivors in rural/lower-income counties had the highest SPC risk compared with urban/higher-income counties (HR-range: 1.20–1.23), particularly for lung/bronchus cancer (HR = 1.57, 95% CI = 1.10–2.23). Conclusion Studies are needed to understand factors driving the impact of socioeconomic status and rurality (e.g., access to care) on SPC risk to inform preventive strategies for breast cancer survivors.

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