However, all-site cancer incidence and mortality rates were significantly higher for Appalachian versus non-Appalachian residents
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter
THURSDAY, Feb. 13, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Cancer incidence and mortality rates are declining in Appalachia, but they are still significantly higher than among non-Appalachian residents, according to a study published online Feb. 6 in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.
Todd Burus, from the University of Kentucky in Lexington, and colleagues examined recent rates and trends in Appalachian cancer outcomes. Five-year age-adjusted U.S. cancer incidence and mortality rates were calculated for 2017 to 2021, stratified into Appalachian and non-Appalachian populations, as well as Appalachian subregions.
The researchers found that all-site cancer incidence (466.6 per 100,000 people) and mortality rates (165.5 per 100,000) were significantly higher among Appalachian residents versus non-Appalachian residents (5.6 and 12.8 percent, respectively) in 2017 to 2021. The highest rates of all-site cancer incidence and mortality (495.9 and 201.9 per 100,000, respectively) were seen in the Central subregion within Appalachia, predominantly Eastern Kentucky. The Central subregion also had the highest rates of lung and colorectal cancer incidence and cervical cancer mortality. Since 2004, there was a significant decrease in all-site cancer incidence and mortality rates among Appalachian individuals (−0.33 and −1.39 percent per year, respectively); in Appalachia, there were site-specific incidence rate decreases for late-stage lung, late-stage colorectal, and late-stage female breast cancers (−2.19, −0.75, and −0.35 percent per year, respectively).
“Analysis within Appalachia revealed unequal cancer outcomes across Appalachian subregions, with the highest rates among Central Appalachian residents — indicating the need for more targeted research to further address and delineate socioeconomic, behavioral, environmental, and biological causes of this disparity,” the authors write.
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