Residential Context Has Larger Impact on Ovarian Cancer Survival in Black Women

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 2, 2026 (HealthDay News) — Residential context has a stronger association with survival for Black than White women with epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC), according to a study published online Aug. 10 in JAMA Network Open.

Francesmary Modugno, Ph.D., M.P.H., from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and colleagues conducted a retrospective, observational cohort study involving women aged 18 years or older diagnosed with EOC to examine whether there is an association of residential context with racial disparities in EOC survival. The study included 509 Black women and 2,035 White women.

The researchers found that the likelihood of being diagnosed with EOC at a more advanced stage was increased for Black versus White women (68.0 versus 62.6 percent); Black women were less likely to have high-grade serous cancers (50.3 versus 53.2 percent). Worse overall survival was seen for Black women (adjusted hazard ratio [AHR], 1.45). Worse overall survival was seen in association with living in areas of greater social vulnerability (AHR, 1.20), with a significantly greater effect for Black versus White women (AHR, 1.77 versus 1.10); the hazard was 32.5 percent greater than expected from the main effects of the social vulnerability index (SVI) and race. Compared with White women residing in similar SVI areas, Black women residing in low and high SVI areas had significantly greater hazards of death (AHRs, 1.20 and 1.60, respectively). No pure mediation effect of SVI was seen on the race-mortality association, but 16.4 percent of the race-mortality excess relative risk was attributable to mediated interactions between race and SVI.

“We expected residential context to influence outcomes, but what surprised us was how much stronger the impact was for Black women,” Modugno said in a statement.

Several authors disclosed ties to the biopharmaceutical industry.

Abstract/Full Text