Extending catchment area approaches to a community cancer center: a breast cancer hotspot case study

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) requires that NCI-Designated Cancer Centers develop programs to reduce the burden of cancer within their catchment areas, or the geographic area they serve. Extending catchment area approaches to community cancer centers has the potential to meaningfully reduce the burden of cancer nationwide. Building on a prior report that identified 2 advanced breast cancer (BC) hotspots (geographic areas with significantly elevated rates of BC) in a community cancer center catchment area, the objective of this study was to identify screening-related and tumor biology factors that explain the advanced BC hotspots.

Logistic regressions were used to model the relationship between BC screening interval and odds of advanced BC in a catchment area-based cohort of 3492 breast cancer patients, adjusting for demographic and tumor characteristics. The observed to expected case ratios were used to evaluate how well the regression models explained the hotspots.

In models adjusted for grade, molecular subtype, and histology, patients with inconsistent BC screening had more than twice the odds of advanced breast cancer as patients who screened regularly. The model largely explained one of the hotspots and approximately half of the excess cases observed for the second hotspot.

In a community cancer center catchment area, BC screening and tumor biology were associated with increased odds of advanced BC and helped to explain previously detected hotspots. Specific community outreach and engagement interventions are considered for these hotspots while broader implications for extending catchment area approaches to community cancer centers are discussed.