The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Aug. 20 published several studies on cancer rates for American Indians and Alaska Natives in a supplement to the Sept. 1 edition of Cancer. The supplement’s 16 studies focus on disparities in health risk behaviors and cancer test use, variation in incidence rates by region, and methods for improving cancer surveillance.
An estimated 61% of U.S. adults 50 and older were screened for colorectal cancer in 2006, up from 54% in 2002, according to a study released March 13 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, uninsured and low-income residents and racial and ethnic minority groups had lower screening rates than others.
“While we are encouraged to see an increase in colorectal cancer screening rates, certain groups are still not getting screened as recommended,” said lead author Djenaba Joseph, M.D., medical officer for CDC’s Division of Cancer Prevention and Control. “We need to ensure that all adults have access to these life-saving tests because there is strong scientific evidence that screening can prevent colorectal cancer deaths.”
U.S. cancer deaths rose by more than 5,000 in 2005, a somewhat disappointing reversal of a two-year downward trend, the American Cancer Society said in a report issued Feb. 20.
The group counted 559,312 people who died from cancer.
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Uninsured patients are significantly more likely to be diagnosed with cancer at an advanced stage than patients with private insurance, according to a new study by the American Cancer Society. The finding was particularly true for cancers that can be detected early by screening or evaluation of symptoms, the authors said.
Using the National Cancer Database, the study compared insurance status and cancer stage at diagnosis for more than 3.5 million patients diagnosed with any of 12 cancers between 1998 and 2004. For many cancers, the study found Medicaid patients and African-American patients also were significantly more likely to be diagnosed at a more advanced stage.
The authors said “simply providing health insurance without ensuring that this coverage is sufficient is unlikely to substantially increase the proportion of patients diagnosed at early stages.”
Cancer care providers should systematically screen patients for psychosocial distress and connect them with needed help, concludes a new report from the Institute of Medicine. Cancer patients’ psychosocial needs can range from information about their therapies and the potential side effects, to treatment for depression and assistance with daily activities, the authors say.
The report recommends an evidence-based model for ensuring that psychosocial health services are an integral part of cancer care, and offers strategies for implementing the model in settings with varying levels of resources.
In the annual "Report to the Nation" on cancer, number show that between 2002 and 2004 death rates dropped by an average of 2.1 percent a year. The big change was a two-pronged gain against colorectal cancer.
While it remains the nation's No. 2 cancer killer, deaths are dropping faster for colorectal cancer than for any other malignancy — by almost 5 percent a year among men and 4.5 percent among women.
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Kathleen Doheny's article in The Washington Post about falling breast cancer death rates had information that may be useful to others covering the story:
The decline in overall reported breast cancer cases, beginning in 2000, is believed to be related to two factors. One is the decreased use of hormone replacement therapy, which has been linked to a multitude of health risks, including breast cancer. Second is a decrease in mammography screening rates.
While 70 percent of women aged 40 and older said they had had a mammogram within the past two years in 2000, just 66 percent did in 2005.
Aside from skin cancer, breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer among U.S. women, accounting for more than one in four malignancies detected in women.
Annual hospital admissions for children with cancer increased by more than 80% from 2000-2005 to 99,500, according to a new report by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The two most common pediatric cancers requiring hospitalization were leukemias and brain tumors.
Pediatric hospital stays where cancer was a secondary diagnosis increased by more than 60% to 75,400. “This suggests that as survivorship increases more children are living with cancer and being hospitalized for other conditions,” the authors say.
The National Cancer Institute reports that over the past 30 years, childhood cancer survival has increased to 80% from 30%.
[ via AHA News Now ]
The incidence of breast cancer declined by 6.7% from 2002 to 2003, largely due to fewer women taking hormone replacement therapy, according to a study published April 19 in the New England Journal of Medicine. The decrease in the incidence of breast cancer started in mid-2002 following the highly publicized series of reports from the Women’s Health Initiative randomized study, which reported that hormone replacement therapy use significantly increased the risks of coronary artery disease and breast cancer.
At the end of the 2002, the use of hormone-replacement therapy declined by 38% in the U.S., with doctors writing approximately 20 million fewer prescriptions than in 2002. The authors found little change in breast cancer incidence from 2003 and 2004, suggesting that the decline in breast cancer incidence had begun to level off and stabilize at a new, lower level.
While cancer is an equal-opportunity disease, it often hits the poor harder, according to a new study by California researchers. The researchers, who are affiliated with the University of Southern California's Keck School of Medicine, surveyed more than 350 stomach and kidney cancer patients to get a sense of their personal and neighborhood risk factors.
Researchers found that people who waited until their cancer was advanced typically lived in unsafe neighborhoods and had to travel at least 45 minutes to get to treatment centers. What's more, they often had low levels of education, had transportation problems and weren't fluent in English. Cancers were also more advanced when patients postponed care due to work or family commitments.
To find out more about the study, read this United Press International article.
