ATLANTA — A new nationwide study from the American Cancer Society finds that where a person lives can significantly impact their chances of developing and surviving cancer.

The report shows that cancer deaths are higher in rural areas than in urban areas, and the gap in mortality rates is widening.

Researchers say higher cancer rates in rural areas are largely driven by limited access to healthcare, lower screening rates, higher poverty, and lifestyle factors such as smoking.

“Differences in cancer risk factors, and in access to early detection and treatment, are likely major contributors to this shift in the high cancer burden from urban to rural areas,” said Dr. Farhad Islami, senior scientific director of cancer disparity research at the American Cancer Society and lead author of the study. “Unfortunately, these trends largely reflect growing inequalities in social determinants of health.”

The study analyzed data from 27,710,318 cancer deaths. Researchers examined trends in cancer mortality rates overall and in the three leading causes of cancer death by sex, lung, colorectal, female breast, and prostate according to the urbanicity of county of residence in the U.S. from 1969 through 2023, using records from the National Center for Health Statistics spanning 55 years.

“Social determinants of health are the environmental conditions where people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that significantly affect health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes,” American Cancer Society officials said.

Lisa A. Lacasse, president of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, said the study underscores the urgent need for lawmakers to support policies that improve access to affordable healthcare.

“All people — no matter where they live — should have a fair and just opportunity to prevent, detect, treat, and survive cancer,” she said.