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

Abstract

Background: 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.

Methods: We undertook a scoping review of how researchers across disparate fields understand and discuss the built environment in primary and secondary cancer prevention. We 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.

Results: The review captured 9958 potential results in the academic literature. We scoped this body of results to 268 relevant peer-reviewed journal articles indexed across 14 subject databases. Spatial proximity, transportation, land use and housing are well understood features of the built environment that shape cancer risk.

Conclusions: Built environment features predominantly influence air quality, substance use, diet, physical activity and screening adherence, with impacts on breast, lung, colorectal, and overall cancer risk. The majority of 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 significant population health impact.