According to a new study, a community’s poverty rate correlates with incidence of certain types of cancer.

The study, published Tuesday, was released by Francis Boscoe, researcher at the New York State Cancer Registry. 

From Al Jazeera:

Researchers compared communities with the highest poverty levels to those with some of the lowest, using data that covered 42 percent of the U.S. population. In total, they analyzed nearly three million tumors diagnosed between 2005 and 2009, according to Francis Boscoe, researcher at the New York State Cancer Registry and the study’s lead author.

Researchers categorized populations into groupings based on the poverty rate of the residential census tract at time of diagnosis. They found that in 32 of 39 cancer types, there was a significant association between cancer incidence and poverty, with 14 types of cancers associated with higher levels of poverty and 18 types associated with wealthier populations.

Read more at Al Jazeera

The study, published in Cancer, is the most comprehensive assessment of the relationship between cancer and poverty on a national level. Cancers associated with behavioral risk factors such as tobacco, alcohol and poor diet were linked to higher levels of poverty.

HPV, cervical cancer, oral, lung, esophagus and liver cancers were all prevalent at greater degrees. Skin, thyroid and prostate cancer are more prominent in wealthier communities. Those types of cancers are more likely to be picked up in individuals who have regular medical check-ups.

The study also found that cancers suffered by those living in poverty tend to be more lethal.

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