Is cancer prevention influenced by the built environment? A multidisciplinary scoping review

• Published in: Cancer Vol. 125; no. 19; pp. 3299 - 3311
• Main Authors: Wray, Alexander James David, Minaker, Leia Michelle
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.10.2019
• Subjects: Air quality; Australia - epidemiology; Breast cancer; Built Environment; Canada - epidemiology; Cancer; cities; Colorectal cancer; Colorectal carcinoma; Construction; Disease prevention; environment; Environment Design; Environmental Exposure - adverse effects; Female; geography; Global Burden of Disease; Health risks; housing; Humans; Indexing; Interdisciplinary Communication; Ireland - epidemiology; Land use; Lung cancer; Municipalities; neighborhood; Neoplasms - epidemiology; Neoplasms - etiology; Neoplasms - prevention & control; Oncology; Physical activity; policy; public health; Residence Characteristics; Risk Assessment; screening; Substance use; transportation; United Kingdom - epidemiology; United States - epidemiology; Urban environments; Canada; United Kingdom; Australia; United States; Ireland; environment; screening; cities; housing; geography; cancer; neighborhood; public health; policy; transportation
• ISSN: 0008-543X; 1097-0142; 1097-0142
• DOI: 10.1002/cncr.32376

The built environment is a significant determinant of human health. Globally, the growing prevalence of preventable cancers suggests a need to understand how features of the built environment shape exposure to cancer development and distribution within a population. This scoping review examines how researchers across disparate fields understand and discuss the built environment in primary and secondary cancer prevention. It is focused exclusively on peer‐reviewed sources published from research conducted in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States from 1990 to 2017. The review captured 9958 potential results in the academic literature, and this body of results was scoped to 268 relevant peer‐reviewed journal articles indexed across 13 subject databases. Spatial proximity, transportation, land use, and housing are well‐understood features of the built environment that shape cancer risk. Built‐environment features predominantly influence air quality, substance use, diet, physical activity, and screening adherence, with impacts on breast cancer, lung cancer, colorectal cancer, and overall cancer risk. The majority of the evidence fails to provide direct recommendations for advancing cancer prevention policy and program objectives for municipalities. The expansion of interdisciplinary work in this area would serve to create a significant population health impact. The built environment affects many types of cancer by determining access to transportation, housing, spatial proximity to cancer risks and screening, and land use. These factors shape exposure to known determinants of cancer and can elevate population‐level risks.