Cancer and American Indians/Alaska Natives

Cancer

Chronic Liver Disease

Infant Health & Mortality

Mental and Behavioral Health

Obesity

Organ and Tissue Donation

Stroke

American Indian/Alaska Native men and women have some lower cancer rates than the non-Hispanic white population. However, disparities still exist in certain types of cancer.

From 2014-2018, American Indian/Alaska Native men were almost twice as likely to have liver & IBD* cancer as compared to non-Hispanic white men.
American Indian/Alaska Native men are 30 percent more likely to have stomach cancer than non-Hispanic white men and are over twice as likely to die from the same disease.
American Indian/Alaska Native women are 2.3 times more likely to have, and 2.2 times as likely to die from, liver & IBD cancer, as compared to non-Hispanic white women.
American Indian/Alaska Native women are 20 percent more likely to have kidney/renal pelvis cancer than non-Hispanic white women.

Diagnosis

Age-adjusted percentages of cancer among adults aged 18 and over, 2019
Cancer	American Indian/Alaska Native	Non-Hispanic White	American Indian/Alaska Native/Non-Hispanic White Ratio
All Sites	15.6	12.4	1.3
Breast (women)	1.8	2.0	0.9
Cervical (women)	--	1.4	--
Prostate (men)	--	2.8	--

Source: NCHS 2021. National Health Interview Survey. Interactive Summary Health Statistics for Adults – 2019. [Accessed 7/22/2021]
https://wwwn.cdc.gov/NHISDataQueryTool/SHS_adult/index.html

Top Cancer Sites for American Indian/Alaska Natives (2014-2018)

Cancer Incidence Rates per 100,000 – Men
Cancer	American Indian/Alaska Native Men	Non-Hispanic White Men	American Indian/Alaska Native/Non-Hispanic White Ratio
All Sites	326.7	520.4	0.7
Colon & Rectum	39.6	42.2	0.9
Esophagus	6.4	8.5	0.8
Kidney	24.2	24.2	1.0
Liver & IBD	21.7	11.3	1.9
Lung	40.9	60.7	0.7
Oral Cavity & Pharynx	12.2	20.2	0.6
Pancreas	13.4	16.3	0.8
Prostate	53.1	118.9	0.4
Stomach	10.1	7.7	1.3

*IBD = Intrahepatic Bile Duct

Source: NCI 2021. Seer Cancer Statistics Review, 1975-2018. Table 1.24 and SEER*Explorer [ Accessed 7/22/2021].
https://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2018/; https://seer.cancer.gov/explorer/

Top Cancer Sites for American Indian/Alaska Natives (2014-2018)

Cancer Incidence Rates per 100,000 – Women
Cancer	American Indian/Alaska Native Women	Non-Hispanic White Women	American Indian/Alaska Native/Non-Hispanic White Ratio
All Sites	311.1	460.2	0.7
Breast	81.7	137.9	0.6
Cervical	7.6	6.7	1.1
Colon & Rectum	37.5	32.7	1.1
Kidney	14.0	11.7	1.2
Liver & IBD	8.6	4.0	2.2
Lung	35.5	53.9	0.7
Pancreas	8.2	11.9	0.8
Stomach	5.8	3.8	1.5
Uterus	20.0	28.7	0.7

Source: NCI 2021. Seer Cancer Statistics Review, 1975-2018. Table 1.25 and SEER*Explorer [ Accessed 7/22/2021].
https://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2018/; https://seer.cancer.gov/explorer/

5 Year Survival Rate

Not available at this time.

Death Rate

Cancer Death Rates per 100,000 – Men (2014-2018)
Cancer	American Indian/Alaska Native Men	Non-Hispanic White Men	American Indian/Alaska Native/Non-Hispanic White Ratio
All Sites	169.3	190.2	0.9
Colon & Rectum	18.5	16.1	1.1
Kidney	8.3	5.5	1.5
Liver & IBD	14.8	8.4	1.8
Lung	38.4	49.4	0.8
Prostate	18.5	17.9	1.0
Stomach	6.3	3.1	2.0

Source: NCI 2021. Seer Cancer Statistics Review, 1975-2018. Table 1.20
https://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2018/sections.html

Cancer Death Rates per 100,000 – Women (2014-2018)
Cancer	American Indian/Alaska Native Women	Non-Hispanic White Women	American Indian/Alaska Native/Non-Hispanic White Ratio
All Sites	120.1	137.8	0.9
Breast	14.8	20.1	0.7
Cervical	2.4	2.0	1.2
Colon & Rectum	12.4	11.5	1.1
Kidney	3.2	2.3	1.4
Liver & IBD	7.0	3.6	1.9
Lung	27.4	35.6	0.8
Stomach	3.5	1.6	2.0
Uterus	3.5	4.5	0.8

Source: NCI 2021. Seer Cancer Statistics Review, 1975-2018. Table 1.20
https://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2018/sections.html

Screening

Breast Cancer

Percentage of women age 40 and over who had a mammogram within the past 2 years, 2018 (crude)
American Indian/Alaska Native Women	Non-Hispanic White Women	American Indian/Alaska Native / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
65.3	68.0	1.0

Source: CDC 2021. Health United States, 2019. Table 33.
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus19-508.pdf [PDF 3.02MB]

Cervical Cancer

Percentage of women age 18 and over who had a Pap smear within the past 3 years, 2018 (crude)
American Indian/Alaska Native Women	Non-Hispanic White Women	American Indian/Alaska Native / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
58.6	63.7	0.9

Source: CDC 2021. Health United States, 2019. Table 34.
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus19-508.pdf [PDF 3.02MB]

Colon Cancer

Adults aged 50-75 who had any colorectal test or procedure, 2018
American Indian/Alaska Native	Non-Hispanic White Women	American Indian/Alaska Native / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
46.1	64.0	0.7