Federal Housing Assistance and Stage at Cancer Diagnosis Among Older Adults in the US.

Importance: A growing number of older adults live in unaffordable and unstable housing; however, whether programs designed to counter housing insecurity contribute to earlier-stage cancer diagnosis remains largely unknown.

Objective: To examine the association between the receipt of federal housing assistance, which limits household spending on rent and utilities, and cancer stage at diagnosis among older adults in the US.

Design, setting, and participants: This comparative cohort study used the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results cancer registry program and Medicare database linked with data from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Participants were individuals aged 66 to 95 years who received new diagnoses of breast cancer, colorectal cancer, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), or prostate cancer between 2007 and 2019. Data were acquired in 2023, and the data analysis was performed from June 2023 through March 2025.

Exposure: Receipt of federal housing assistance.

Main outcomes and measures: The primary outcome was stage at cancer diagnosis, defined as in situ (for breast cancer only), localized, regional, or distant. Odds ratios (ORs) for the association between having HUD assistance at diagnosis and cancer stage at diagnosis were estimated using multinomial (nonproportional odds) regression. Individuals with HUD assistance were propensity score matched to individuals without housing assistance.

Results: A total of 52 532 individuals (mean [SD] age at diagnosis, 76.3 [6.8] years; 33 608 women [64.0%]) with housing assistance at diagnosis were included: 16 064 had breast cancer, 10 807 had colorectal cancer, 17 156 had NCSLC, and 8505 had prostate cancer; 38 183 (72.7%) were enrolled in Medicaid, and 38 539 (73.4%) had Part D low-income cost sharing. Compared with matched controls, fewer individuals with housing assistance received a diagnosis of distant breast cancer (1071 patients [6.7%] vs 3485 patients [7.2%]; adjusted OR [aOR], 0.85; 95% CI, 0.82- 0.90), distant colorectal cancer (2398 patients [22.2%] vs 7562 patients [23.3%]; aOR, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.83-0.98), and distant NSCLC (8810 patients [51.4%] vs 27 901 patients [54.2%]; aOR, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.79-0.86) compared with localized cancers. Housing assistance was not significantly associated with stage at diagnosis for individuals with prostate cancer. The association between housing assistance and stage at cancer diagnosis varied across the different types of housing assistance, including the Housing Choice voucher program, multifamily housing, and public housing.

Conclusions and relevance: The findings of this cohort study of older adults with cancer suggest that federal housing assistance was associated with earlier-stage diagnosis of breast cancer, colorectal cancer, and NSCLC, highlighting its potential role in mitigating the adverse associations of housing insecurity with cancer outcomes.