Abstract
While climate change and its impacts have worsened in the U.S. over the past decade, associations between cancer incidence and regional climate change among women and racial minorities remains overlooked. U.S. states were divided into three climate impact categories (high, moderate, low) based on climate data from federal, insurance, and non-profit reports. We utilized United States Cancer Statistics data to identify 6,728,838 climate change-associated cancers (cutaneous melanoma, lung, breast) diagnosed from 2001-2019. Statistical analyses were then performed to examine incidence trends for these cancers. We found that high climate impact states experienced larger increases in cutaneous melanoma, lung, and breast cancer incidence compared to low climate impact states. Upon intersectionality analysis, breast cancer incidence in high impact regions increased among Black, Hispanic, and Asian women but decreased for White women. These incidence trends may continue to worsen unless actions mitigating climate change and its populational health impacts are undertaken.