Timely surgery is a critical step in the treatment of breast cancer. While major advances in screening and therapy have improved survival, not all patients experience the same access to timely care. Delays between diagnosis and surgery can create additional stress for patients and may reflect broader structural challenges within healthcare systems. Our study sought to better understand how social drivers of health may influence treatment timelines.
The motivation for this work grew from ongoing discussions within our multidisciplinary research team. Clinicians and researchers alike observed that factors beyond tumor characteristics or treatment preferences often shape the pace of care. In particular, social and neighborhood-level conditions appeared to play an important role in determining how quickly patients move from diagnosis to surgery. This prompted us to examine large population-based data to explore these patterns more systematically.
Studying social drivers of health presents unique challenges. These factors are complex and not always directly measured in clinical datasets. A key part of our work involved carefully defining indicators that could capture meaningful aspects of patients’ lived environments while maintaining robust analytic approaches. Interpreting differences that may seem modest at the individual level also required thoughtful consideration, as even small disparities can have important implications when viewed across populations.
Our findings suggest that patients living in more socially disadvantaged settings were more likely to experience longer times to surgery. Although the differences were not large, they highlight persistent inequities in access to timely cancer treatment. These results reinforce the importance of looking beyond clinical factors alone when seeking to improve cancer care delivery.
Ultimately, we hope this research contributes to ongoing efforts to promote equity in breast cancer outcomes. By identifying groups who may be at greater risk of treatment delays, healthcare systems can work toward targeted strategies that support timely and accessible care for all patients.
The full study can be accessed in the British Journal of Cancer