Cancer-related pain and sexual orientation and gender identity: an intersectional approach
Menée aux Etats-Unis à partir de données portant sur 56 217 patients ayant survécu à un cancer (1 655 personnes issues des minorités de genre), cette étude analyse, en fonction de l'identité de genre et de l'orientation sexuelle, la présence de douleurs liées à la maladie
Background: We examined cancer-related pain in sexual and gender minorities (SGM) compared to heterosexual cisgender populations and evaluated sociodemographic factors within SGM and heterosexual cisgender cancer survivors.
Methods: We combined 2014-2023 data of the Behavioral Risk Factors Surveillance System from 23 states and Guam that administered the sexual orientation and gender identity module and the pain-specific cancer survivorship module. Our analytic sample consisted of 56,217 cancer survivors, of whom 1,655 identified as SGM.
Results: Sexual minority cancer survivors reported twice or more the prevalence of cancer pain than heterosexual cisgender survivors, with gender minority cancer survivors reporting cancer pain most frequently (28%), followed by sexual minority women (17%), and sexual minority men (14%). Sociodemographic subgroups, consisting of younger, unmarried, not employed, and those with low income, are at increased risk of experiencing cancer pain.
Conclusions: Our findings point to heterogeneity among sexual minority cancer survivors’ prevalence of pain and additional efforts to characterize gender minorities’ disparities in cancer pain.
Impact: There is an urgent need for evidence-based real-life clinical data characterization of SGM cancer pain disparities and efforts to reduce their cancer-related pain.
Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention , résumé, 2026