Abstract C092: Proximity to green space and inflammation among breast cancer patients
Authors: Micua Taylor , Lombardo Joseph , DesJarlais Alex M , Keating Benjamin C. , Lazar Melissa , Zeigler-Johnson Charnita , Adekeye Adeseye , Mitchell Edith , McIntire Russell K. , Simone Nicole L. 
Published: January 2023

It is important to establish if exposure to green space provides a protective effect for breast cancer development and progression to advocate for expanded access to green space areas for 1) those at-risk and 2) cancer patients receiving treatment. There is an association of residential proximity to green space with decreased breast cancer incidence. Current studies have not evaluated how patient variables may affect this relationship. We sought to determine if patient-level green space proximity correlated to social determinants of health such as poverty or minority status, or patient physiologic or inflammatory molecular markers in breast cancer patients. A retrospective analysis of baseline demographic data (including addresses) and cytokine profiles from breast cancer patients who had enrolled on investigator initiated trials at our institution was performed. National Land Cover Database and Philadelphia Parks & Recreation data was used to identify green space indicators such as patient proximity and neighborhood density of green space and tree canopy and was correlated to the patient’s systemic inflammation. Pearson coefficients were performed to identify relationships between green space indicators and inflammation. Patients were accrued to investigator initiated trials between 2013-2019. All had a diagnosis of ductal carcinoma in situ or invasive breast cancer. The median age of the women on the study was 63 years old, 42% were black, and 64% were considered of low socioeconomic status. The fraction of total area within a 250-meter radius of each patient’s address that has low vegetation or tree canopy was calculated. More women with above the median percentage of low vegetation within 250 meters of their residence had elevated levels of the anti-inflammatory cytokine TGF-B (p &lt;0.001). In addition, living with above the median percentage of low vegetation within 250 meters of their residence was associated with having higher levels of IGF-BP3 (p &lt;0.001). In our diverse patient population who experience adverse social determinants of health, an inverse correlation was noted between residential proximity to greenspace indicators and inflammation. These results could be used to advocate for expanded access to green space, especially among those with lowest resources, as increased inflammation is associated with breast cancer incidence and progression.

Citation Format: Taylor Micua, Joseph Lombardo, Alex M DesJarlais, Benjamin C. Keating, Melissa Lazar, Charnita Zeigler-Johnson, Adeseye Adekeye, Edith Mitchell, Russell K. McIntire, Nicole L. Simone. Proximity to green space and inflammation among breast cancer patients [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 15th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2022 Sep 16-19; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2022;31(1 Suppl):Abstract nr C092.