By
- PennLive Express Desk
- J.D. Prose | jdprose@pennlive.com
A study led by a Pennsylvania university has shown that neighborhood conditions are linked to higher ovarian cancer death rates
Women living in socially vulnerable neighborhoods face a 20% higher risk of death after an ovarian cancer diagnosis compared to women in less vulnerable areas, according to a University of Pittsburgh-led study published Aug. 10 in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Network Open
The research also found Black women faced a 45% higher risk of death than white women
The study analyzed data from 2,544 women diagnosed with epithelial ovarian cancer and treated at the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. The group included 509 Black women and 2,035 white women
Researchers linked each patient’s home census tract to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Social Vulnerability Index, which scores neighborhoods on factors including poverty, housing conditions, transportation access and educational attainment
The findings revealed that Black women had worse survival than white women even when they lived in similarly advantaged neighborhoods. The combination of being Black and living in a highly vulnerable neighborhood carried a greater risk of death than either factor alone would suggest
“We expected residential context to influence outcomes, but what surprised us was how much stronger the impact was for Black women,” said Francesmary Modugno, professor in Pitt’s Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences and senior author of the study
“Our findings suggest that it’s not simply where someone lives. The interaction between a woman’s lived experience and her residential environment may be helping drive these persistent disparities,” added Modugno, who is a member of the Women’s Cancer Research Center, a collaboration between UPMC Hillman Cancer Center and Magee-Womens Research Institute in Pittsburgh
Epithelial ovarian cancer is the deadliest gynecologic cancer. About half of patients survive five years after diagnosis. Survival is lower for Black women, with fewer than 40% alive five years later
Differences in age at diagnosis, cancer stage and tumor type explain some of the gap, but a large share of the disparity remains unexplained
The research was conducted with collaborators from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, the University of South Carolina, the University of Kentucky and the Ri.MED Foundation. It builds on 2025 research by Modugno and Pitt colleagues using UPMC Hillman Cancer Center data in western Pennsylvania, which linked neighborhood social vulnerability to ovarian cancer survival
The findings point to opportunities for health systems and cancer programs to identify patients at higher risk and connect them with additional support, including patient navigation programs, transportation assistance, childcare support and survivorship re
“Our findings reinforce that we must better understand and address the barriers patients face in their communities and ensure that every woman has equitable access to high-quality care,” said Dr. Rebecca Arend, an associate professor of gynecology oncology in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham
“Translating research into meaningful improvements in cancer outcomes is only possible through strong collaborations among academic medical centers, researchers and community partners,” said Arend, who also serves as associate director of clinical research at the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center in Birmingham
The researchers said health systems could use neighborhood-level measures such as the Social Vulnerability Index in cancer care planning to identify patients facing barriers to care and connect them with support during treatment
The findings will need to be tested in other regions and among other racial and ethnic groups. Future studies will also look at other factors that may affect survival, including neighborhood pollution, food access and community re
