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Regional differences in colorectal cancer incidence, stage, and subsite among American Indians and Alaska Natives, 1999–2004
Author(s) -
Perdue David G.,
Perkins Carin,
JacksonThompson Jeannette,
Coughlin Steven S.,
Ahmed Faruque,
Haverkamp Donald S.,
Jim Melissa A.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.052
H-Index - 304
eISSN - 1097-0142
pISSN - 0008-543X
DOI - 10.1002/cncr.23726
Subject(s) - medicine , incidence (geometry) , epidemiology , demography , population , colorectal cancer , pacific islanders , cancer , rate ratio , relative risk , surveillance, epidemiology, and end results , gerontology , cancer registry , environmental health , confidence interval , physics , sociology , optics
BACKGROUND. Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a leading cause of cancer morbidity and mortality for American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/ANs), but misclassification of race causes underestimates of disease burden. METHODS. The authors compared regional differences in CRC incidence, stage at diagnosis, and anatomic distribution between AI/ANs and non‐Hispanic whites (NHWs). To reduce misclassification, data from the National Program of Cancer Registries; the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program; and the Indian Health Service (IHS) were linked. The analysis was limited to the 56% of AI/AN who live in IHS Contract Health Service Delivery Areas. RESULTS. From 1999 to 2004, the overall incidence rate (per 100,000 persons per year) of CRC was 9% lower in the AI/AN population (46.3) than in the NHW population (50.8). However, AI/AN CRC incidence rates varied nearly 5‐fold regionally, from 21 in the Southwest to 102.6 in Alaska. Compared with NHW rates, AI/AN rates were significantly higher in Alaska (rate ratio [RR], 2.03), the Northern Plains (RR, 1.39), and the Southern Plains (RR, 1.16) but were lower in the Pacific Coast (RR, 0.80), the East (RR, 0.65), and the Southwest (RR, 0.45). AI/ANs were diagnosed more often with advanced CRC than with localized CRC (RR, 1.92) compared with NHWs (RR, 1.48). Females more often had proximal CRC among both the AI/AN population (females, 40.1%; males, 33.5%) and the NHW population (females, 50.1%; males, 40.3%), although AI/ANs had a higher proportion of distal cancers overall. CONCLUSIONS. CRC incidence rates in AI/AN populations varied dramatically between regions. Efforts are needed to make CRC screening a priority, overcome barriers to endoscopic screening, and to engage AI/AN communities in culturally appropriate ways to participate in prevention and early detection programs. Cancer 2008;113(5 suppl):1179–90. Published 2008 by the American Cancer Society.