Abstract A102: Evaluating relationship between food environment and pancreatic cancer demographics and outcomes

Abstract

Abstract Introduction: Various socioeconomic factors have been investigated in the context of pancreatic cancer outcomes. However, the impact of factors relating to one’s ability to access healthy food such as food desert residence have not been studied. This study aimed to utilize a state-wide cancer database to explore the intersectionality of food desert residence with other patient socioeconomic factors as well their respective relationships with pancreatic cancer survival. Methods: The Virginia Department of Health Cancer Registry was queried for patients between 18 and 89 years of age who were diagnosed with a primary pancreatic malignancy during the 2009-2018 time frame. Patient addresses at presentation were mapped onto the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Access Research Atlas to determine food desert residence. Demographics, tumor characteristics, treatment characteristics, and survival data were collected. R version 4.3.0 (Vienna, Austria) was utilized to assess data via descriptive statistics, bivariate and multivariate analysis. Results: Patients’ age at diagnosis, insurance types, and race were significantly associated with their food desert residential status at baseline. Kaplan-Meier analysis demonstrated that while receipt of surgery and chemotherapy (p < 0.0001) were associated with decreased mortality, food desert status was not substantially associated with mortality risk within this cohort. In the fully adjusted Cox regression model, patients in the Other race category (mostly Asian Americans) had a statistically lower hazard ratio compared to Caucasian patients (adjusted HR 0.62; 95% CI 0.39-0.97). Patients with private insurance (adjusted HR 0.45; 95% CI 0.24-0.87), Medicare/Medicaid (adjusted HR 0.46; 95% CI 0.24-0.88), or other type insurance (adjusted HR 0.36; 95% CI 0.17-0.78) had lower hazard ratios compared to those who were uninsured. Conclusions: Patient food desert residence status and other socioeconomic factors are interconnected. While living in a food desert alone was not associated with pancreatic cancer survival, race and insurance status were found to be predictors of decreased mortality risk. Future studies are warranted to investigate the disease characteristics and survival profile of patients with both low access to healthy foods and low income. Citation Format: Vignesh Vudatha, Christopher Liu, Jian He, Devon Freudenberger, Nolan Wages, Jose Trevino. Evaluating relationship between food environment and pancreatic cancer demographics and outcomes [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 16th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2023 Sep 29-Oct 2;Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2023;32(12 Suppl):Abstract nr A102.