Federal Housing Assistance Linked With Earlier Cancer Diagnoses

Federal housing assistance may be associated with earlier-stage breast cancer, colorectal cancer, and non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) diagnoses, highlighting its potential role in mitigating the adverse effects of housing insecurity on cancer outcomes, according to findings presented last month at the 2024 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Quality Care Symposium.¹

Qinjin Fan, PhD

In the study, Qinjin Fan, PhD, a senior scientist with the American Cancer Society, and other researchers used novel SEER-Medicare Housing and Urban Development administrative data from individuals aged 66 to 95 years who were newly diagnosed with breast cancer, colorectal cancer, prostate cancer, or NSCLC from 2006 to 2019. After identifying individuals who were receiving housing assistance at diagnosis, controls without housing assistance at diagnosis were propensity score matched in a 3:1 ratio by cancer site, age, sex, race/ethnicity, marital status, registry, year of diagnosis, area-level Yost socioeconomic status index, dual Medicaid eligibility, rural/urban residence, and reason for Medicare entitlement. Associations of housing assistance and diagnosis stage (SEER summary stage: localized, regional, or distant) were examined with separate multinomial regression models by cancer type.

Researchers identified 7335 individuals with breast cancer, 5660 with colorectal cancer, 7399 with NSCLC, and 4309 with prostate cancer who were receiving housing assistance at diagnosis. Compared with matched controls, individuals with housing assistance were less likely to be diagnosed with regional or distant versus localized breast cancer and regional or distant versus localized NSCLC. Compared with matched controls, individuals with housing assistance were less likely to be diagnosed with distant colorectal cancer.

Study findings suggest that federal housing assistance may help mitigate the adverse effects of housing insecurity on early diagnoses of cancer; more research is needed to evaluate the association of housing assistance and receipt of guideline-concordant cancer treatment.

Reference

1. Yabroff R, Blackford A, Fan Q, et al. Is federal housing assistance associated with earlier-stage cancer diagnosis? Evidence from the new SEER-Medicare and US Department of Housing and Urban Development data linkage. JCO Oncol Pract. 2024;20(suppl 10):Abstract 85. https://doi.org/10.1200/OP.2024.20.10_suppl.85