Neighborhood conditions over time and cancer risk
Assessing residential neighborhood exposome exposures and the associations with cancer incidence
Researchers will link long-term neighborhood conditions to the chances of breast, colorectal, and lung cancer for people living in different communities.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Virginia Commonwealth University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Richmond, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11140474 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
This project combines many neighborhood factors—like poverty, historical housing patterns, pollution, and built-environment features—into a single picture of neighborhood disadvantage. Researchers will match these factors to people’s address histories and cancer registry or vital records to see how exposures across years relate to breast, colorectal, and lung cancer. They will apply advanced Bayesian statistical methods to weigh multiple exposures and their timing instead of using single measures or one time point. The aim is to explain geographic and racial/ethnic differences in cancer rates and highlight neighborhood exposures that could be changed to lower risk.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: People with address histories and records in the study data—for example residents covered by state cancer registries, including women at risk for breast cancer and individuals living in areas with known disparities—would be relevant to this work.
Not a fit: People needing immediate cancer treatment, those without linked address histories, or those living outside the covered registry areas are unlikely to directly benefit from this project.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the work could point to neighborhood factors that communities or policymakers can change to lower cancer risk and reduce disparities.
How similar studies have performed: Previous research has linked single neighborhood measures to cancer, but this multi-domain, longitudinal exposome approach is more comprehensive and less tested.
Where this research is happening
Richmond, United States
- Virginia Commonwealth University — Richmond, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Perera, Robert Anthony — Virginia Commonwealth University
- Study coordinator: Perera, Robert Anthony
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.