Links Between Historical Redlining, Breast Cancer Survival Attenuated

MONDAY, Feb. 9, 2026 (HealthDay News) — Associations between historical redlining and breast cancer survival have changed over time, with a narrowing of disparities, according to a study published online Feb. 9 in Cancer.

Sarah M. Lima, Ph.D., M.P.H., from the University of Buffalo in New York, and colleagues examined the associations between historical redlining and all-cause survival of breast cancer from 1995 to 2019. The registry-based cohort included 135,827 patients with breast cancer diagnosed between 1995 and 2019. A historical redlining grade (range, A to D) was assigned to cases, which were then divided into five-year diagnostic time periods. The associations with survival were estimated.

The researchers identified a significant time interaction with historical redlining for survival. For grade D versus grade A, survival disparities were largest in 1995 to 1999 and lowest in 2005 to 2009 (hazard ratios, 1.75 and 1.48, respectively). For local and regional tumors, redlining associations were largest in 1995 to 1999 and attenuated over time. Among distant tumors, redlining was generally not associated with survival. Among patients with hormone receptor-positive tumors, D-grade versus A-grade survival disparities increased over time. Among all race/ethnicity groups, significant temporal effects were detected.

“Historical redlining continues to have lasting effects on breast cancer mortality today, but our findings show that the effects are not necessarily permanent and it”s not too late to intervene,” Lima said in a statement.

Abstract/Full Text