Spatial inequalities in cancer with special reference to lung cancer across Europe and their implications for environmental health policy.

Abstract

This study investigates spatial disparities in cancer and lung-cancer mortality across Europe through an integrative geospatial epidemiological framework. Using age-standardised Eurostat mortality data for 2022 at the NUTS-2 level, we combine Getis-Ord Gi* and Anselin Local Moran's I to detect statistically significant hot/cold spots, while multivariate regressions incorporate environmental and topographic predictors. Results reveal pronounced east-west and urban-rural gradients: persistent high-mortality clusters span Central and Eastern Europe, where historical industrialisation, elevated smoking prevalence, and structural healthcare gaps converge. By contrast, Southern European regions - Portugal, western Spain, and southern Greece - are associated with lower observed mortality levels, plausibly reflecting favourable behavioural profiles, environmental conditions, and healthcare accessibility. Spatial outliers identify territories where localised factors, such as air-pollution peaks or differential diagnostic capacity, modify broader regional patterns. Overall, the findings highlight geography as a structuring context for exposure, vulnerability, and access to care, rather than as a direct causal driver of cancer risk, and demonstrate the value of spatial epidemiology for territorial health governance, environmental monitoring, and urban planning. Policy relevance is twofold. First, the evidence supports region-specific interventions aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) - especially SDG 3 (health), SDG 10 (reduced inequalities), and SDG 11 (sustainable cities). Second, the spatial outputs provide a robust empirical basis for informing the health-equity ambitions of Europe's Beating Cancer Plan and the environmental-justice agenda of the European Green Deal. By bridging granular geospatial evidence with EU-wide priorities, the study underscores the need for place-based, equity-oriented frameworks in cancer prevention and control across heterogeneous European landscapes.