Journal Article Ppublish 1 citation
PubMed: 38566558 DOI: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-23-1237
Geospatial Science for the Environmental Epidemiology of Cancer in the Exposome Era.
Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 33(4):451-460
Authors: Trang VoPham, Alexandra J White, Rena R Jones
Affiliations
- Epidemiology Program, Public Health Sciences Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, Washington.
- Department of Epidemiology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.
- Epidemiology Branch, Division of Intramural Research, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.
- Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, NCI, NIH, Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, Maryland.
Abstract
Geospatial science is the science of location or place that harnesses geospatial tools, such as geographic information systems (GIS), to understand the features of the environment according to their locations. Geospatial science has been transformative for cancer epidemiologic studies through enabling large-scale environmental exposure assessments. As the research paradigm for the exposome, or the totality of environmental exposures across the life course, continues to evolve, geospatial science will serve a critical role in determining optimal practices for how to measure the environment as part of the external exposome. The objectives of this article are to provide a summary of key concepts, present a conceptual framework that illustrates how geospatial science is applied to environmental epidemiology in practice and through the lens of the exposome, and discuss the following opportunities for advancing geospatial science in cancer epidemiologic research: enhancing spatial and temporal resolutions and extents for geospatial data; geospatial methodologies to measure climate change factors; approaches facilitating the use of patient addresses in epidemiologic studies; combining internal exposome data and geospatial exposure models of the external exposome to provide insights into biological pathways for environment-disease relationships; and incorporation of geospatial data into personalized cancer screening policies and clinical decision making.
MeSH
Environmental Exposure, Epidemiology, Neoplasms, Epidemiologic Studies, Research, Genetic Markers, Environment, Exposome