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Disparities in cancer incidence by sexual orientation.
Huang, Aimee K; Hoatson, Tabor; Chakraborty, Payal; McKetta, Sarah; Soled, Kodiak R S; Reynolds, Colleen A; Boehmer, Ulrike; Miranda, Alexis R; Streed, Carl G; Maingi, Shail; Haneuse, Sebastien; Young, Jessica G; Kang, Jae H; Austin, S Bryn; Eliassen, A Heather; Charlton, Brittany M.
Affiliation
  • Huang AK; Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
  • Hoatson T; Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
  • Chakraborty P; Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
  • McKetta S; Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
  • Soled KRS; Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
  • Reynolds CA; Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
  • Boehmer U; Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
  • Miranda AR; Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
  • Streed CG; Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
  • Maingi S; Department of Community Health Sciences, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
  • Haneuse S; Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
  • Young JG; Department of Medicine, Boston University Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
  • Kang JH; GenderCare Center, Boston Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
  • Austin SB; Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
  • Eliassen AH; Department of Biostatistics, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
  • Charlton BM; Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Cancer ; 2024 May 11.
Article in En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38733613
ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION:

Cancer risk factors are more common among sexual minority populations (e.g., lesbian, bisexual) than their heterosexual peers, yet little is known about cancer incidence across sexual orientation groups.

METHODS:

The 1989-2017 data from the Nurses' Health Study II, a longitudinal cohort of female nurses across the United States, were analyzed (N = 101,543). Sexual orientation-related cancer disparities were quantified by comparing any cancer incidence among four sexual minority groups based on self-disclosure-(1) heterosexual with past same-sex attractions/partners/identity; (2) mostly heterosexual; (3) bisexual; and (4) lesbian women-to completely heterosexual women using age-adjusted incidence rate ratios (aIRR) calculated by the Mantel-Haenszel method. Additionally, subanalyses at 21 cancer disease sites (e.g., breast, colon/rectum) were conducted.

RESULTS:

For all-cancer analyses, there were no statistically significant differences in cancer incidence at the 5% type I error cutoff among sexual minority groups when compared to completely heterosexual women; the aIRR was 1.17 (95% CI,0.99-1.38) among lesbian women and 0.80 (0.58-1.10) among bisexual women. For the site-specific analyses, incidences at multiple sites were significantly higher among lesbian women compared to completely heterosexual women thyroid cancer (aIRR, 1.87 [1.03-3.41]), basal cell carcinoma (aIRR, 1.85 [1.09-3.14]), and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (aIRR, 2.13 [1.10-4.12]).

CONCLUSION:

Lesbian women may be disproportionately burdened by cancer relative to their heterosexual peers. Sexual minority populations must be explicitly included in cancer prevention efforts. Comprehensive and standardized sexual orientation data must be systematically collected so nuanced sexual orientation-related cancer disparities can be accurately assessed for both common and rare cancers.
Key words

Full text: 1 Database: MEDLINE Language: En Journal: Cancer Year: 2024 Type: Article Affiliation country: United States

Full text: 1 Database: MEDLINE Language: En Journal: Cancer Year: 2024 Type: Article Affiliation country: United States