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Ahmedin Jemal

Publications and source records attributed to Ahmedin Jemal.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2026

Cancer statistics for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander people, 2026.

BACKGROUND: Cancer statistics for Asian American and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) people are usually aggregated, masking substantial variation within this heterogeneous population. Herein, the American Cancer Society reports cancer incidence and survival for 8 Asian American and 3 NHPI ethnic groups. METHODS: The authors used population-based cancer registry data from the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program, for Asian American and NHPI ethnic groups from 2000 through 2022. RESULTS: During 2018-2022, overall cancer incidence ranged from 218.3 per 100,000 Kampuchean people to 474.5 per 100,000 Native Hawaiian people, which was 1.5 times higher than the rate for the aggregated Asian American and NHPI population (307.3 per 100,000). High incidence among Native Hawaiian people is largely driven by the highest rates of female breast, colorectal, and prostate cancers, whereas infection-related cancers were highest among Asian American ethnic groups. For example, liver and stomach cancer incidence is highest among Vietnamese (22.2 per 100,000) and Korean people (17.8 per 100,000), respectively, both of which were nearly twice that in Native Hawaiian people (12.9 and 9.6 per 100,000, respectively). Native Hawaiian and Samoan women are twice and 3 times as likely, respectively, to be diagnosed with uterine corpus cancer as aggregated Asian American and NHPI women or White women. Five-year relative survival ranges from 42% in Laotians to 74% in Asian Indians/Pakistanis, with largest differences for colorectal (43% in Laotians to 72% in Asian Indians/Pakistanis) and prostate (63% in Kampucheans to 97% in Japanese) cancers. CONCLUSIONS: Wide variation in cancer risk within the Asian American and NHPI population highlights the critical need for disaggregated data to effectively target cancer prevention and control interventions.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Annual report to the nation on the status of cancer, 1975-2003, featuring cancer among U.S. Hispanic/Latino populations.

BACKGROUND: The American Cancer Society, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Cancer Institute, and North American Association of Central Cancer Registries collaborate annually to provide U.S. cancer information, this year featuring the first comprehensive compilation of cancer information for U.S. Latinos. METHODS: Cancer incidence was obtained from 90% of the Hispanic/Latino and 82% of the U.S. populations. Cancer deaths were obtained for the entire U.S. population. Cancer screening, risk factor, incidence, and mortality data were compiled for Latino and non-Latino adults and children (incidence only). Long-term (1975-2003) and fixed-interval (1995-2003) trends and comparative analyses by disease stage, urbanicity, and area poverty were evaluated. RESULTS: The long-term trend in overall cancer death rates, declining since the early 1990s, continued through 2003 for all races and both sexes combined. However, female lung cancer incidence rates increased from 1975 to 2003, decelerating since 1991 and breast cancer incidence rates stabilized from 2001 to 2003. Latinos had lower incidence rates in 1999-2003 for most cancers, but higher rates for stomach, liver, cervix, and myeloma (females) than did non-Latino white populations. Latino children have higher incidence of leukemia, retinoblastoma, osteosarcoma, and germ-cell tumors than do non-Latino white children. For several common cancers, Latinos were less likely than non-Latinos to be diagnosed at localized stages. CONCLUSIONS: The lower cancer rates observed in Latino immigrants could be sustained by maintenance of healthy behaviors. Some infection-related cancers in Latinos could be controlled by evidence-based interventions. Affordable, culturally sensitive, linguistically appropriate, and timely access to cancer information, prevention, screening, and treatment are important in Latino outreach and community networks.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

U.S. congressional district cancer death rates.

BACKGROUND: Geographic patterns of cancer death rates in the U.S. have customarily been presented by county or aggregated into state economic or health service areas. Herein, we present the geographic patterns of cancer death rates in the U.S. by congressional district. Many congressional districts do not follow state or county boundaries. However, counties are the smallest geographical units for which death rates are available. Thus, a method based on the hierarchical relationship of census geographic units was developed to estimate age-adjusted death rates for congressional districts using data obtained at county level. These rates may be useful in communicating to legislators and policy makers about the cancer burden and potential impact of cancer control in their jurisdictions. RESULTS: Mortality data were obtained from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) for 1990-2001 for 50 states, the District of Columbia, and all counties. We computed annual average age-adjusted death rates for all cancer sites combined, the four major cancers (lung and bronchus, prostate, female breast, and colorectal cancer) and cervical cancer. Cancer death rates varied widely across congressional districts for all cancer sites combined, for the four major cancers, and for cervical cancer. When examined at the national level, broad patterns of mortality by sex, race and region were generally similar with those previously observed based on county and state economic area. CONCLUSION: We developed a method to generate cancer death rates by congressional district using county-level mortality data. Characterizing the cancer burden by congressional district may be useful in promoting cancer control and prevention programs, and persuading legislators to enact new cancer control programs and/or strengthening existing ones. The method can be applied to state legislative districts and other analyses that involve data aggregation from different geographic units.

Age Distribution↗
PubMed2006

Lung cancer death rates in lifelong nonsmokers.

BACKGROUND: Few studies have directly measured the age-, sex-, and race-specific risks of lung cancer incidence and mortality among never tobacco smokers. Such data are needed to quantify the risks associated with smoking and to understand racial and sex disparities and temporal trends that are due to factors other than active smoking. METHODS: We measured age-, sex-, and race-specific rates (per 100,000 person-years at risk) of death from lung cancer among more than 940,000 adults who reported no history of smoking at enrollment in either of two large American Cancer Society Cancer Prevention Study cohorts during 1959-1972 (CPS-I) and 1982-2000 (CPS-II). We compared lung cancer death rates between men and women and between African Americans and whites and analyzed temporal trends in lung cancer death rates among never smokers across the two studies by using directly age-standardized rates as well as Poisson and Cox proportional hazards regression analyses. All statistical tests were two-sided. RESULTS: The age-standardized lung cancer death rates among never-smoking men and women in CPS-II were 17.1 and 14.7 per 100,000 person-years, respectively. Men who had never smoked had higher age-standardized lung cancer death rates than women in both studies (CPS-I: hazard ratio [HR] = 1.52, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.28 to 1.79; CPS-II: HR = 1.21, 95% CI = 1.09 to 1.36). The rate was higher among African American women than white women in CPS-II (HR = 1.43, CI = 1.11 to 1.85). A small temporal increase (CPS-II versus CPS-I) in lung cancer mortality was seen for white women (HR = 1.25, CI = 1.12 to 1.41) and African American women (HR = 1.22, CI = 0.64 to 2.33), but not for white men (HR = 0.89, CI = 0.74 to 1.08). Among white and African American women combined, the temporal increase was statistically significant only among those aged 70-84 years (P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Contrary to clinical perception, the lung cancer death rate is not higher in female than in male never smokers and shows little evidence of having increased over time in the absence of smoking. Factors that affect the interpretation of lung cancer trends are discussed. Our novel finding that lung cancer mortality is higher among African American than white women never smokers should be confirmed in other studies.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Interpreting cancer trends.

The interpretation of cancer incidence trends is complicated by short-term random variation, artifactual fluctuations introduced by screening, changes in diagnosis or disease classification, completeness of reporting, and by the multiplicity of factors that may affect risk for specific cancer sites. We analyzed trends in 56 different cancer sites and subsites in the U.S. SEER registries in the period 1975-2002 using join-point analysis. The increase in cancer incidence for all sites combined that became evident with the inception of the SEER registries in the mid-1970s has abated since the early 1990s. Among the 15 most common cancer sites in men, sites with increasing incidence rates during the most recent time period include melanoma of the skin and cancers of the prostate, kidney and renal pelvis (kidney), and esophagus. Among women, incidence rates are increasing for leukemia, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, melanoma, and cancers of the breast, thyroid, urinary bladder, and kidney. Incidence rates for all childhood cancers combined increased 0.6% per year from 1975 to 2002. Cancer mortality rates have decreased in the United States since 1991 in both men and in women; site-specific death rates have decreased in the most recent time period for 12 of the top 15 cancer sites in men and 9 of the top 15 cancer sites in women. Similar trends in cancer incidence and mortality have been reported in other industrialized countries. Possible reasons for these trends are discussed.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMed2005

Annual report to the nation on the status of cancer, 1975-2002, featuring population-based trends in cancer treatment.

BACKGROUND: The American Cancer Society (ACS), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Cancer Institute (NCI), and the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries (NAACCR) collaborate annually to provide information on cancer rates and trends in the United States. This year's report updates statistics on the 15 most common cancers in the five major racial/ethnic populations in the United States for 1992-2002 and features population-based trends in cancer treatment. METHODS: The NCI, the CDC, and the NAACCR provided information on cancer cases, and the CDC provided information on cancer deaths. Reported incidence and death rates were age-adjusted to the 2000 U.S. standard population, annual percent change in rates for fixed intervals was estimated by linear regression, and annual percent change in trends was estimated with joinpoint regression analysis. Population-based treatment data were derived from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program registries, SEER-Medicare linked databases, and NCI Patterns of Care/Quality of Care studies. RESULTS: Among men, the incidence rates for all cancer sites combined were stable from 1995 through 2002. Among women, the incidence rates increased by 0.3% annually from 1987 through 2002. Death rates in men and women combined decreased by 1.1% annually from 1993 through 2002 for all cancer sites combined and also for many of the 15 most common cancers. Among women, lung cancer death rates increased from 1995 through 2002, but lung cancer incidence rates stabilized from 1998 through 2002. Although results of cancer treatment studies suggest that much of contemporary cancer treatment for selected cancers is consistent with evidence-based guidelines, they also point to geographic, racial, economic, and age-related disparities in cancer treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Cancer death rates for all cancer sites combined and for many common cancers have declined at the same time as the dissemination of guideline-based treatment into the community has increased, although this progress is not shared equally across all racial and ethnic populations. Data from population-based cancer registries, supplemented by linkage with administrative databases, are an important resource for monitoring the quality of cancer treatment. Use of this cancer surveillance system, along with new developments in medical informatics and electronic medical records, may facilitate monitoring of the translation of basic science and clinical advances to cancer prevention, detection, and uniformly high quality of care in all areas and populations of the United States.

Age Distribution↗
PubMed2005

Trends in the leading causes of death in the United States, 1970-2002.

CONTEXT: The decrease in overall death rates in the United States may mask changes in death rates from specific conditions. OBJECTIVE: To examine temporal trends in the age-standardized death rates and in the number of deaths from the 6 leading causes of death in the United States. DESIGN AND SETTING: Analyses of vital statistics data on mortality in the United States from 1970 to 2002. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The age-standardized death rate and number of deaths (coded as underlying cause) from each of the 6 leading causes of death: heart disease, stroke, cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, accidents (ie, related to transportation [motor vehicle, other land vehicles, and water, air, and space] and not related to transportation [falls, fire, and accidental posioning]), and diabetes mellitus. RESULTS: The age-standardized death rate (per 100,000 per year) from all causes combined decreased from 1242 in 1970 to 845 in 2002. The largest percentage decreases were in death rates from stroke (63%), heart disease (52%), and accidents (41%). The largest absolute decreases in death rates were from heart disease (262 deaths per 100,000), stroke (96 deaths per 100,000), and accidents (26 deaths per 100,000).The death rate from all types of cancer combined increased between 1970 and 1990 and then decreased through 2002, yielding a net decline of 2.7%. In contrast, death rates doubled from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease over the entire time interval and increased by 45% for diabetes since 1987. Despite decreases in age-standardized death rates from 4 of the 6 leading causes of death, the absolute number of deaths from these conditions continues to increase, although these deaths occur at older ages. CONCLUSIONS: The absolute number of deaths and age at death continue to increase in the United States. These temporal trends have major implications for health care and health care costs in an aging population.

Cause of Death↗
PubMed2005

Incidence of noncutaneous melanomas in the U.S.

BACKGROUND: Description of the epidemiology of noncutaneous melanoma has been hampered by its rarity. The current report was the largest in-depth descriptive analysis of incidence of noncutaneous melanoma in the United States, using data from the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries. METHODS: Pooled data from 27 states and one metropolitan area were used to examine the incidence of noncutaneous melanoma by anatomic subsite, gender, age, race, and geography (northern/southern and coastal/noncoastal) for cases diagnosed between 1996 and 2000. Percent distribution by stage of disease at diagnosis and histology were also examined. RESULTS: Between 1996 and 2000, 6691 cases of noncutaneous melanoma (4885 ocular and 1806 mucosal) were diagnosed among 851 million person-years at risk. Ocular melanoma was more common among men compared with women (6.8 cases per million men compared with 5.3 cases per million women, age-adjusted to the 2000 U.S. population standard), whereas mucosal melanoma was more common among women (2.8 cases per million women compared with 1.5 cases per million men). Rates of ocular melanoma among whites were greater than eight times higher than among blacks. Rates of mucosal melanoma were approximately two times higher among whites compared with blacks. CONCLUSIONS: In contrast to cutaneous melanoma, there was no apparent pattern of increased noncutaneous melanoma among residents of southern or coastal states, with the exception of melanoma of the ciliary body and iris. Despite their shared cellular origins, both ocular and mucosal melanomas differ from cutaneous melanoma in terms of incidence by gender, race, and geographic area.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Cancer incidence patterns among adolescents and young adults in the United States.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine age-specific cancer incidence patterns among adolescents and young adults (ages 15--49). METHOD: Cancer incidence data for 1995--1999 from 22 population-based central cancer registries, covering about 47% of the US population, were used. Relative frequencies and average annual age-specific incidence rates per 100,000 person-year were computed for the five-year age groups from age 15--19 years through 45--49 years. Tests of significance for comparison were at a level of p<0.05. RESULTS: The age at crossover from a predominance of non-epithelial cancers to a predominance of epithelial cancers during adolescence and young adulthood varied by gender and race. Epithelial cancer became the predominant type of tumor after age 40 years among males while it was the predominant type after age 25 years among females. There was also a shift in the top five cancer types with increasing age, which varied by race and gender. Epithelial cancers of the thyroid, breast, ovary, and cervix uteri started to increase sharply among young women in their 20s while among males epithelial cancers rarely occurred until the early 30s (ages 30--34). Cancers of the female breast, colon and rectum, and lung began to occur at an earlier age and increased more sharply among blacks than among whites. However, the incidence rates of epithelial thyroid and ovarian cancers rose more quickly among whites than blacks. Non-Hodgkin lymphoma and soft tissue sarcoma (excluded Kaposi's sarcoma) increased with age among both whites and blacks but the rates were significantly higher among blacks than among whites. Both Kaposi's sarcoma and testicular cancer incidence increased with age and peaked in the early 30s (ages 30--34). The former was significantly higher among blacks than whites while the latter was significantly higher among whites than blacks. Cervical cancer incidence leveled off when white women reached their 30s, but for black women the rate continued to rise with advancing age. Cutaneous melanoma rates were significantly higher among females than among males between the ages of 15 and 39. Conclusion Cancer incidence patterns among adolescents and young adults are distinctive. Specific cancer prevention and control strategies should be targeted accordingly and tailored to their specific needs.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Under-use of smoking-cessation treatments: results from the National Health Interview Survey, 2000.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the use of treatment for tobacco dependence in relation to insurance status and advice from a healthcare provider in a population-based national sample interviewed in 2000. METHODS: Analyses are based on 3996 adult smokers who participated in the National Health Interview Survey in 2000, and who provided information on tobacco-cessation treatments used at their most recent quit attempt occurring in the last year. Age-adjusted and weighted categorical analysis was used to compute prevalence estimates of self-reported treatments (pharmacotherapy and behavioral counseling) for tobacco dependence. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to examine factors associated with use of treatments. RESULTS: Overall, 22.4% of smokers who tried to quit in the previous year used one or more types of cessation aid compared to 15% in 1986. Treatment usually involved pharmacotherapy (21.7%) rather than behavioral counseling (1.3%). Smokers attempting to quit were more likely to use cessation aids if covered by private (25.4%) or military (25.0%) insurance than by Medicare (17.8%), Medicaid (15.5%), or no insurance (13.2%). In a multivariate analysis of factors related to use of cessation aids, advice from a healthcare provider to quit smoking and the number of cigarettes smoked per day were significant predictors of treatment use, regardless of insurance status. CONCLUSIONS: Cessation aids are under-used across insurance categories. Advice by a healthcare provider to quit is associated with increased use of effective therapies for tobacco dependence. Systematic efforts are needed to eliminate barriers to appropriate treatment.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Geographic patterns of prostate cancer mortality and variations in access to medical care in the United States.

BACKGROUND: Striking geographic variation in prostate cancer death rates have been observed in the United States since at least the 1950s; reasons for these variations are unknown. Here we examine the association between geographic variations in prostate cancer mortality and regional variations in access to medical care, as reflected by the incidence of late-stage disease, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) utilization, and residence in rural counties. METHODS: We analyzed mortality data from the National Center for Health Statistics, 1996 to 2000, and incidence data from 30 population-based central cancer registries from the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries, 1995 to 2000. Ecological data on the rate of PSA screening by registry area were obtained from the 2001 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Counties were grouped into metro and nonmetro areas according to Beale codes from the Department of Agriculture. Pearson correlation analyses were used to examine associations. RESULTS: Significant correlations were observed between the incidence of late-stage prostate cancer and death rates for Whites (r = 0.38, P = 0.04) and Blacks (r = 0.53, P = 0.03). The variation in late-stage disease corresponded to about 14% of the variation in prostate cancer death rates in White men and 28% in Black men. PSA screening rate was positively associated with total prostate cancer incidence (r = 0.42, P = 0.02) but inversely associated with the incidence of late-stage disease (r = -0.58, P = 0.009) among White men. Nonmetro counties generally had higher death rates and incidence of late-stage disease and lower prevalence of PSA screening (53%) than metro areas (58%), despite lower overall incidence rates. CONCLUSION: These ecological data suggest that 10% to 30% of the geographic variation in mortality rates may relate to variations in access to medical care.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Contemporary lung cancer trends among U.S. women.

The age-standardized lung cancer incidence rate among women in the United States has decreased for each of the last 3 years for which data are available (1999-2001). We conducted this study to assess the stability and near-term sustainability of this decrease. We examined temporal trends in age-specific lung cancer incidence by calendar year and birth cohort and measured trends in the age-standardized rate in each geographic area within the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program using joinpoint regression analyses. Age-standardized lung cancer incidence rates have peaked or are decreasing in all geographic areas within SEER, although the decline is statistically significant only in San Francisco-Oakland. Age-specific incidence rates are decreasing in six of the seven 5-year age groups between ages 50 and 84 years in all areas of SEER combined. Rates in these age groups contribute nearly 95% of the total age-standardized incidence rate; consequently, trends in incidence at these ages will determine future trends in the overall age-standardized incidence rate for the next 20 to 25 years. Birth cohort patterns suggest that the decrease in the age-standardized rate will continue for at least 20 years, but will be slowed by aging of women born in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Given calendar year and birth cohort age-specific incidence patterns, the early decline in lung cancer incidence among women is likely to persist through at least 2025. Sustaining the downward trend beyond 2025 will require continued reductions in smoking initiation among children and increases in cessation among addicted smokers.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Annual report to the nation on the status of cancer, 1975-2001, with a special feature regarding survival.

BACKGROUND: The American Cancer Society (ACS), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Cancer Institute (NCI), and the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries (NAACCR) collaborate annually to provide updated information regarding cancer occurrence and trends in the U.S. This year's report features a special section on cancer survival. METHODS: Information concerning cancer cases was obtained from the NCI, CDC, and NAACCR and information concerning recorded cancer deaths was obtained from the CDC. The authors evaluated trends in age-adjusted cancer incidence and death rates by regression models and described and compared survival rates over time and across racial/ethnic populations. RESULTS: Incidence rates for all cancers combined decreased from 1991 through 2001, but stabilized from 1995 through 2001 when adjusted for delay in reporting. The incidence rates for female lung cancer decreased (although not statistically significant for delay adjusted) and mortality leveled off for the first time after increasing for many decades. Colorectal cancer incidence rates also decreased. Death rates decreased for all cancers combined (1.1% per year since 1993) and for many of the top 15 cancers occurring in men and women. The 5-year relative survival rates improved for all cancers combined and for most, but not all, cancers over 2 diagnostic periods (1975-1979 and 1995-2000). However, cancer-specific survival rates were lower and the risk of dying from cancer, once diagnosed, was higher in most minority populations compared with the white population. The relative risk of death from all cancers combined in each racial and ethnic population compared with non-Hispanic white men and women ranged from 1.16 in Hispanic white men to 1.69 in American Indian/Alaska Native men, with the exception of Asian/Pacific Islander women, whose risk of 1.01 was similar to that of non-Hispanic white women. CONCLUSIONS: The continued measurable declines for overall cancer death rates and for many of the top 15 cancers, along with improved survival rates, reflect progress in the prevention, early detection, and treatment of cancer. However, racial and ethnic disparities in survival and the risk of death from cancer, and geographic variation in stage distributions suggest that not all segments of the U.S. population have benefited equally from such advances.

American Cancer Society↗
PubMed2004

Subsite-specific colorectal cancer incidence rates and stage distributions among Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States, 1995 to 1999.

OBJECTIVE: This study examined subsite-specific colorectal cancer incidence rates and stage distributions for Asians and Pacific Islanders (API) and compared the API data with data for Whites and African Americans. METHODS: Data included 336,798 invasive colorectal cancer incident cases for 1995 to 1999 from 23 population-based central cancer registries, representing about two thirds of API population in the United States. Age-adjusted rates, using the 2000 U.S. standard population, and age-specific rates and stage distributions were computed by anatomic subsite, race, and gender. All rates were expressed per 100,000. SEs and rate ratios were calculated for rate comparison. A significance level of 0.05 was used for all analyses. RESULTS: Overall, age-adjusted colorectal cancer incidence rates were significantly lower in API than in Whites and African Americans across anatomic subsites, particularly for proximal colon cancer in which rates were 40% to 50% lower in API males and females. Exception to this pattern was the significantly (10%) higher rectal cancer incidence rate in API males than in African American males. The incidence patterns by anatomic subsite within API differed from those of Whites and African Americans. Among API, the rate of rectal cancer (19.2 per 100,000) was significantly higher than the rates of proximal (15.2 per 100,000) and distal (17.7 per 100,000) colon cancers in males, with little variations in rates across anatomic subsites in females. In contrast, among White and African American males and females, proximal colon cancer rates were over 25% higher than the rates of distal colon and rectal cancers. Increases in age-specific rates with advancing age were more striking for proximal colon cancer than for distal colon and rectal cancers in Whites and African Americans, while age-specific rates were very similar for different subsites in API with parallel increases with advancing age, especially in API males. Similar to Whites and African Americans, in API, proximal colon cancers (32% to 35%) were also less likely to be diagnosed with localized stage compared with distal colon (38% to 42%) and rectal (44% to 52%) cancers. CONCLUSION: The patterns of subsite-specific colorectal cancer incidence in API, especially API males, differ from those of Whites and African Americans. Similar to Whites and African Americans, lower percentage of localized disease in API for proximal colon cancer than for distal colon and rectal cancers was also observed.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Annual report to the nation on the status of cancer, 1975-2000, featuring the uses of surveillance data for cancer prevention and control.

BACKGROUND: The American Cancer Society, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Cancer Institute (NCI), and the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries (NAACCR) collaborate annually to update cancer rates and trends in the United States. This report updates statistics on lung, female breast, prostate, and colorectal cancers and highlights the uses of selected surveillance data to assist development of state-based cancer control plans. METHODS: Age-adjusted incidence rates from 1996 through 2000 are from state and metropolitan area cancer registries that met NAACCR criteria for highest quality. Death rates are based on underlying cause-of-death data. Long-term trends and rates for major racial and ethnic populations are based on NCI and CDC data. Incidence trends from 1975 through 2000 were adjusted for reporting delays. State-specific screening and risk factor survey data are from the CDC and other federal and private organizations. RESULTS: Cancer incidence rates for all cancer sites combined increased from the mid-1970s through 1992 and then decreased from 1992 through 1995. Observed incidence rates for all cancers combined were essentially stable from 1995 through 2000, whereas the delay-adjusted trend showed an increase that had borderline statistical significance (P =.05). Increases in the incidence rates of breast cancer in women and prostate cancer in men offset a long-term decrease in lung cancer in men. Death rates for all cancer sites combined decreased beginning in 1994 and stabilized from 1998 through 2000, resulting in part from recent revisions in cause-of-death codes. Death rates among men continued to decline throughout the 1990s, whereas trends in death rates among women were essentially unchanged from 1998 through 2000. Analysis of state data for the leading cancers revealed mixed progress in achieving national objectives for improving cancer screening, risk factor reduction, and decreases in mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Overall cancer incidence and death rates began to stabilize in the mid- to late 1990s. The recent increase in the delay-adjusted trend will require monitoring with additional years of data. Further reduction in the burden of cancer is possible but will require the continuation of strong federal, state, local, and private partnerships to increase dissemination of evidence-based cancer control programs to all segments of the population.

Age Distribution↗