Abstract PO-086: Social vulnerability related to rural disparities in colorectal cancer mortality in Florida

Abstract

Abstract Introduction: The multiple rural and urban counties in the state of Florida exhibit different socioeconomic characteristics and access to healthcare. These differences in living conditions potentially impact incidence and mortality rates of diseases, particularly cancer. We examined rural differences in county-level colorectal cancer incidence and mortality and county social vulnerability characteristics related to rural disparities in colorectal mortality for all 67 counties in Florida. Methods: We examined colorectal cancer incidence and mortality data provided by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) State Cancer Profiles in conjunction with the United States Census Bureau definition for rurality: counties that have more than 50% of their population within a rural area would be classified as rural. We used a t-test for unequal variances to examine the difference in the mean colorectal incidence and mortality for rural counties compared to urban counties. We then used a linear regression to examine county social vulnerability (SoVI) metrics, poverty, and Medically Underserved Areas (MUA) related to colorectal cancer mortality. Preliminary Results: Of the 67 counties in Florida, 25 were designated as rural and 42 were designated as urban. The mean rural age-adjusted incidence of colorectal cancer was 40.93 per 100,000 compared to 36.82 per 100,000 for urban incidence (p=0.16). The rural mortality per 100,000 for colorectal cancer was significantly higher than urban colorectal morality per 100,000 (18.22 vs 13.12, p=<0.01). Our pending regression analysis will pinpoint county SoVI factors (such as poverty and MUA) specifically related to the observed disparity in rural colorectal cancer mortality. Conclusion: While risk of colorectal cancer was not significantly higher for rural counties in Florida, the rural colorectal death rate was significantly higher in rural than urban counties. These results add to the understanding of socioeconomic characteristics related to rural disparities in cancer mortality. Further work is needed to address strategies for eliminating rural disparities so that there is a greater chance of surviving diseases such as colorectal cancer. Citation Format: Alejandro Arroyo Rodriguez, Cassie Lewis Odahowski. Social vulnerability related to rural disparities in colorectal cancer mortality in Florida [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Virtual Conference: 14th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2021 Oct 6-8. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2022;31(1 Suppl):Abstract nr PO-086.