A major new research project by Cancer Council Queensland may help to explain why country women are more likely than city women to die within five years of a breast cancer diagnosis.

The five-year study will be the first of its kind in Australia, involving more than 3,200 Queensland women diagnosed with breast cancer.

Lead investigator for CCQ, Pip Youl, said the findings would be used to help improve breast cancer survival rates in Queensland.

"The study will be the first large-scale study of its kind to investigate the range of factors that influence survival outcomes for Queensland women affected by breast cancer.

"Our ultimate aim is to use the study findings to develop cancer control strategies that will reduce the burden of breast cancer in women."

Ms Youl said the project would produce three important outcomes.

"Firstly, it will enable us to determine whether a woman's place of residence has an impact on the treatment and supportive care she receives, while also examining the influence of each woman's individual characteristics.

"Secondly, it will help us to provide health care providers, policy makers and support organisations with targeted information to improve the future care of women with breast cancer.

"And thirdly, it will inform the development of recommendations for strategies to improve supportive care for women with breast cancer."

The study follows the release of the first Atlas of Cancer in Queensland, which found differences in breast cancer incidence and survival between rural and urban women.

"While there is some variation within areas, our research shows that women diagnosed with breast cancer while living in outer regional areas of Queensland are about 33 per cent more likely to die from their cancer within five years than those in the major metropolitan area of South East Queensland," Ms Youl said.

"The survival gap between women living in remote areas of the state and women in South East Queensland is even greater, at nearly 66 per cent.

"These variations may be caused by a range of factors, such as access to screening and diagnostic services, stage at diagnosis, access to effective treatment and care, individual risk factors, or even chance.

"Our goal is to close this gap, so that all Queensland women are provided with the best possible prospects for preventing, detecting, effectively treating and surviving breast cancer.

"Importantly, the findings from the research project will provide a rationale for greater allocation of funding and resources to improve detection and survival outcomes for women affected by breast cancer across the whole of Queensland."

Participants will be asked to complete telephone and self-administered surveys to assess how individual and non-individual factors influence breast cancer outcomes.

"Findings from the research project will help to identify strategies for addressing any disparities in treatment and support, in order to improve survival rates.

"The project may also help to pioneer new models for addressing and managing breast cancer, so that the women of Queensland are better supported through their diagnosis of breast cancer," Ms Youl said.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in Queensland women, and a third of all women diagnosed will experience high levels of psychological distress.

All women between 20 and 79 years of age diagnosed with breast cancer in Queensland between September 2010 and December 2012 will be invited to participate in the study.