Introduction: Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States (U.S.), after cardiovascular disease. Although there has been a continuous decline in cancer mortality rates in the U.S. over the past two decades, the Appalachian region, which extends through 13 states and 420 counties in the southeastern part of the U.S., has seen a lower decline in cancer mortality. From 1980-2014, cancer deaths decreased by almost 45%, but cancer mortality rates in rural Appalachia was 36% higher than for urban non-Appalachian counties. In terms of cancer-specific, although breast cancer mortality rates have also decreased significantly nationally, a lesser decline was seen in Appalachian counties (17.5%), compared with non-Appalachian counties (30.5%). Similarly, in all 13 Appalachian states, lung cancer mortality rates exceed national rates. Tennessee (TN) is one of the largest and most diverse states in Appalachia in terms of race/ethnicity, income, and location compared to similar largely rural states in the region like Kentucky and West Virginia.
Objective: This study explores cancer incidence trends by demographic factors in northeast Tennessee.
Methods: We extracted and examined electronic medical records for 322 cancer patients diagnosed with any of the top five cancers (breast, leukemias, lung, lymphoma, and prostate) between January and June 31, 2017, in a major oncological clinic in northeast TN, which attracts low-income individuals and Medicare patients. Variables included gender, race, marital status, tobacco use, and Zip codes. Descriptive statistics was used to examine the distribution, and the Spearman’s rank-order correlation to assess the relationship between demographic factors and cancer type.
Results: Preliminary results showed that among women diagnosed with the top five cancers, the proportion of breast cancer (52.1%) was relatively higher than other cancers like lung (15.5%), leukemias (13.6%), multiple myeloma (9.9%) and lung (8.9%). The percentage of cancer diagnosed among men was leukemias (29.2%), lung (27.1%), prostate (21.9%), and lymphoma (21.9%). Findings further revealed a significant positive correlation of 0.396 (p =p= <0.001).
Conclusions: This exploratory study examined the trends of cancer incidence in northeast Appalachia TN. Consistent with national trends, breast cancer continued to be the leading cancer diagnosed among women. However, the positive relationship between age and smoking appears to reflect that tobacco and nicotine use is associated with the likelihood to be diagnosed with any of the top five cancers. In addition, because the region is underserved and yet understudied, it is important to continue to evaluate cancer patterns as well as behavioral risk factors to identify areas for effective intervention.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ETSU/oai:dc.etsu.edu:asrf-1207 |
| Date | 05 April 2018 |
| Creators | Oke, Adekunle, Orimaye, Sylvester Olubolu, Kalu, Ndukwe, Williams, Faustine |
| Publisher | Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University |
| Source Sets | East Tennessee State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Appalachian Student Research Forum |
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