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Racial disparities in lung cancer rates still exist in the US
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The highest incidence rates of lung cancer diagnosis annually were observed among blacks, according to recent CDC data.
There were 1,433,172 lung cancer diagnoses in the US during the study period, which ran from 1998 to 2006. The overall annual incidence rate was 69.3 per 100,000 population. When broken down by race, the annual rates per 100,000 were as follows:
- 76.1 among blacks
- 69.7 among whites
- 48.4 among American Indians or Alaska Natives
- 38.4 among Asians or Pacific Islanders
- 37.3 among Hispanics
- 71.9 among non-Hispanics
The highest rate observed among whites was in the South, at 76.3 cases per 100,000. Among blacks (88.9), American Indians/Alaska Natives (64.2) and Hispanics (40.6), the highest rates were observed in the Midwest. The highest incidence among Asians/Pacific Islanders was in the West, at 42.5 per 100,000.
“Racial/ethnic disparities in lung cancer incidence are associated with multiple factors, including differences in smoking prevalence, metabolism of tobacco smoke products, susceptibility to tobacco-induced lung cancer and socioeconomic status,” the investigators wrote. When broken down by age, those aged 70 to 79 years had the highest incidence rate at 426.7 cases per 100,000. The rate for those aged 80 years or older was 354.8, followed by 258 among 60- to 69-year-olds, 86.5 among 50- to 59-year-olds, 21.8 among 40- to 49-year-olds and 0.9 among those younger than 40 years. The pattern of decreasing incidence as age decreased persisted within racial and ethnic categories.
By region, the highest rate was 76 cases in the South vs. 58.8 cases in the West. There were 73 cases in the Midwest and 68.6 cases per 100,000 annually in the Northeast.
The current data summarize findings from CDC’s National Program of Cancer Registries and the NCI’s SEER program from 1998 to 2006. The data — which represent 79.5% of the US population — are the first combined set reflecting lung cancer incidence rates among racial or ethnic groups according to census region.
“These findings identify the racial/ethnic populations and geographic regions that would most benefit from enhanced efforts in primary prevention, specifically by reducing tobacco use and exposure to environmental carcinogens,” the investigators wrote.
For more information:
- Fairley TL. MMWR. 2010;59:1434-1438.