An analysis of hurricane impact across multiple cancers: Accessing spatio-temporal variation in cancer-specific survival with Hurricane Katrina and Louisiana SEER data.

Considering the impact of events such as natural disasters on disease risk is important. For this study, we examined temporal trends in multiple cancers available via Louisiana SEER data to understand how event impacts differ in timing and strength by cancer type. The specific event of interest for these Louisiana residents diagnosed with lung and bronchus, prostate, breast, colorectal, leukemia, or ovarian cancer in during the years 2000-2013 was Hurricane Katrina (August 2005). The results across multiple cancers showed similarities among trends, both spatial and temporal. With these results in mind, direct action could be made with the aim of improving survival after detrimental events or in detected Louisiana parishes with worse than average survival.