Spatial epidemiology of cancer: a review of data sources, methods and risk factors

Abstract

Cancer is a major concern among chronic diseases today. Spatial epidemiology plays a relevant role in this matter and we present here a review of this subject, including a discussion of the literature in terms of the level of geographic data aggregation, risk factors and methods used to analyse the spatial distribution of patterns and spatial clusters. For this purpose, we performed a websearch in the Pubmed and Web of Science databases including studies published between 1979 and 2015. We found 180 papers from 63 journals and noted that spatial epidemiology of cancer has been addressed with more emphasis during the last decade with research based on data mostly extracted from cancer registries and official mortality statistics. In general, the research questions present in the reviewed papers can be classified into three different sets: i) analysis of spatial distribution of cancer and/or its temporal evolution; ii) risk factors; iii) development of data analysis methods and/or evaluation of results obtained from application of existing methods. This review is expected to help promote research in this area through the identification of relevant knowledge gaps. Cancer's spatial epidemiology represents an important concern, mainly for public health policies design aimed to minimise the impact of chronic disease in specific populations. IntroductionGiven the relevance of spatial epidemiology in health research and the emphasis of cancer among chronic diseases, as well as the growing amount of studies in this area, it is important to know what the literature says about spatial epidemiology of cancer as well as provide its structured description. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), cancer is a leading cause of death in the world (WHO, 2015). It is also the cause of various morbidities and co-morbidities and can be responsible for loss of years of life years as well as loss of years without disability. Considering the aging population, it is predicted that the number of new cases of cancer will increase by more than 12% over the next decade in the European Union (EU) (DGS, 2013). The fight against cancer is a major challenge in public health. This challenge is due in part to the inequalities in terms of incidence, mortality, and survival. Therefore, a multidisciplinary approach is needed (Bastos et al., 2010). Among the various fields that can contribute to the development of knowledge about this disease, spatial epidemiology plays an important role. It can promote the understanding of spatial and temporal distribution patterns, helping to better identify the risk factors that influence them.Three types of approach can be established in spatial epidemiology: i) mapping; ii) geographic correlation; and iii) clustering (Elliott and Wartenberg, 2004). Mapping or map design regarding health and disease situations is the most often mentioned and used of these three approaches. Further, geographic correlation studies have the goal to spatially compare the health with several types of factors such as e...

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