Abstract 4973: Assessing urban-rural differences in the outcomes of the most common cancers in Georgia: Incidence rates and stage at diagnosis

Introduction: Lung, pancreatic, colon, prostate and breast cancers are the leading causes of cancer-related deaths in Georgia. Mortality is highest in rural counties which have higher poverty rates and larger composition of minority population. Our study aims to compare the proportion of the five most common cancers in Georgia that were diagnosed at late stages between urban and rural county locations. Methods: The National Institutes of Health State Cancer Profiles database was examined for incidence rates of breast, colon, lung, prostate and pancreatic cancers from 2017 to 2021 in Georgia. Age-adjusted incidence rates were calculated and stratified by county name, location and percentage at late stage of diagnosis. Late stage was defined as the presence of regional or distant metastases at the time of diagnosis. Results: Among women diagnosed with breast cancer, rural counties had a statistically significant higher percentage of late-stage diagnoses compared to urban counties. In contrast, no significant differences were observed in the incidence of late-stage diagnosis for colon, lung, prostate, or pancreatic cancers between rural and urban populations. Conclusion: The study demonstrated a statistically significant disparity in late-stage breast cancer diagnoses between rural and urban counties in Georgia. This emphasizes the need to improve early detection of this cancer that is alarmingly becoming more common. More attention should be given to these underserved communities given these findings. While no statistically significant rural-urban differences were found for other cancer types, further observational studies with more robust methodologies are needed in order to understand the observed incongruence in stage at diagnosis of breast and the other leading cancers in Georgia. Citation Format: Amelito Manuel Andaya, A. Miguel Andaya, Stanley Atencah, Jason Holligan, Chinenye Egwuonwu. Assessing urban-rural differences in the outcomes of the most common cancers in Georgia: Incidence rates and stage at diagnosis [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2025; Part 1 (Regular Abstracts); 2025 Apr 25-30; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2025;85(8_Suppl_1):Abstract nr 4973.