Objective: To examine systematically the literature on the effect of geographical location variation on breast cancer stage at diagnosis, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status.
Methods: Eight electronic databases were searched using combination of key words. Of the 312 articles retrieved from the search, 36 studies from 12 countries were considered eligible for inclusion.
Results: This review identified 17 (47%) of 36 studies in which breast cancer patients residing in geographically remote/rural areas had more late-stage diagnosis than urban women. Ten (28%) studies reported higher proportions of women diagnosed with breast cancer resided in urban than rural counties. Nine (25%) studies reported no statistically significant association between place of residence and stage at diagnosis for breast cancer patients residing in rural and urban areas.
Conclusions: Cancer patients residing in rural and disadvantaged areas were more likely to be diagnosed with distant breast metastasis. Efforts to reduce these inequalities and subsequent mortality are needed.