The number of cancer deaths and new cancer cases in Iowa is projected to remain the same as last year, but cancer could soon exceed heart disease as the leading cause of death in the state, said an expert with the State Health Registry of Iowa in the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Iowa College of Public Health. The State Health Registry of Iowa has been gathering cancer incidence and follow-up data for the state since 1973.
The annual Cancer in Iowa report also highlighted the value of state and national cancer data sources, which help advance efforts to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer. In particular, such resources can help identify and reduce disparities in cancer care.
The report, based on data from the Iowa Department of Public Health and the Iowa Cancer Registry, includes county-by-county statistics.
In 2009, an estimated 6,300 Iowans will die from cancer and 16,000 new cancers will be diagnosed, the report stated.
"The numbers are comparable to what the State Health Registry has been reporting in recent years, and there have not been any major shifts," said Charles Lynch, M.D, PhD, medical director of the registry and a UI professor of epidemiology.
And while heart disease still exceeds cancer as a cause of death in Iowa, that could change soon. Minnesota has reported that cancer deaths have already surpassed heart disease deaths there.
"When we look at age-adjusted death rates for heart disease and cancer through year 2005, the rates are getting closer in Iowa," Lynch said. "If these rates continue on the same path, cancer may be the number one cause of death in Iowa by the end of the decade. Both cancer and heart disease deaths are declining in the state, but heart disease mortality has been declining faster for a longer period of time."
Early cancer detection and improved treatments have helped reduce cancer mortality, and lifestyle changes can make a difference.
"Cancer is strongly influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. Important preventive steps people can take to prevent cancer include smoking cessation, healthy eating, regular exercise and reduced alcohol use," Lynch said.
The "big four" cancers -- breast, colorectal, lung and prostate -- continue to account for more than half of all cancer deaths in Iowa. However, pancreatic cancer is becoming a more common cause of cancer death, due largely to declining prostate cancer mortality.
"In a few areas of the state, pancreatic cancer is among the top four most common causes of cancer death," Lynch said. "Unfortunately, survival for pancreatic cancer is poor. It's difficult to diagnose, and many people are in the advanced stage when diagnosed."
This year's cancer report highlighted how cancer data sources provide valuable information to researchers and the general public. Resources include:
"There's a lot of information available that can help with efforts to control, and even conquer, cancer," Lynch said.
George Weiner, MD, director of Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center at the UI, said the availability of cancer data is particularly important when addressing cancer incidence and care disparities.
"Data sources can indicate whether a certain cancer or stage of cancer is more common and allow us to focus on figuring out why that is true," said Weiner, who also is president of the Iowa Consortium for Comprehensive Cancer Control. "Data sources also can help with the development of educational efforts and public policies, as well as advancing clinical care.
"For example, these data help us understand whether differences in the burden of cancer in different areas of Iowa might be due to differences in access to screening or treatment. Most important, this helps us implement programs to address those problems," Weiner added. |
