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Cancer and American Indians/Alaska Natives

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

  • From 2009-2013, American Indian/Alaska Native men were almost twice as likely to have liver & IBD cancer as non-Hispanic White men.
  • American Indian/Alaska Native men are 1.6 times as likely to have stomach cancer as non-Hispanic White men, and are over twice as likely to die from the same disease.
  • American Indian/Alaska Native women are 2.5 times more likely to have, and almost twice 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 as non-Hispanic White women.

 

New Cases:

New Cancer Cases per 100,000 - Men (2012)

Cancer
American Indian Men
Non-Hispanic White Men
American Indian/Non-Hispanic White Ratio
All Sites
344.7
489.9
0.7
Colon and Rectum
57.8
42.2
1.4
Lung
44.1
61.4
0.7
Pancreas (2011)
17.6
14.3
1.2
Prostate
59.5
106.7
0.6
Stomach
16.6
7.8
2.1

 

New Cancer Cases per 100,000 – Women (2012)

Cancer
American Indian Women
Non-Hispanic White Women
American Indian/Non-Hispanic White Ratio
All Sites
367.9
433.2
0.8
Breast
96.9
136.5
0.7
Cervical (2011)
9.5
6.5
1.5
Colon and Rectum
45.1
33.5
1.3
Lung
34.4
49.7
0.7
Pancreas
11.3
11.0
1.0
Stomach
12.2
3.9
3.1

Source: CDC, 2016. Health United States, 2015. Table 36.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus15.pdf [PDF | 13.02MB]

 

Top Cancer Sites for American Indians (2009-2013):

Cancer Incidence Rates per 100,000 – Men

Cancer
American
Indian Men
Non-Hispanic White Men
American Indian/Non-Hispanic White Ratio
All Sites
338.5
529.2
0.6
Colon & Rectum
46.2
46.7
1.0
Esophagus
5.0
8.3
0.6
Kidney & Renal Pelvis
25.1
22.2
1.1
Liver & IBD*
18.5
10.1
1.8
Lung & Bronchus
48.6
72.7
0.7
Oral Cavity & Pharynx
13.2
18.8
0.7
Pancreas
10.9
14.4
0.8
Prostate
63.9
125.1
0.5
Stomach
13.5
8.3
1.5

 

Top Cancer Sites for American Indians (2009-2013):

Cancer Incidence Rates per 100,000 – Women

Cancer
American
Indian Women
Non-Hispanic White Women
American Indian/Non-Hispanic White Ratio
All Sites
310.7
440.8
0.7
Breast
81.2
134.3
0.6
Cervical
7.7
7.0
1.1
Colon & Rectum
36.8
36.2
1.0
Esophagus
1.4
1.8
0.8
Kidney & Renal Pelvis
13.3
10.9
1.2
Liver & IBD*
8.1
3.3
2.5
Lung & Bronchus
32.0
56.2
0.6
Oral Cavity & Pharynx
5.7
6.9
0.8
Pancreas
8.6
10.9
0.8
Stomach
8.0
3.7
2.2

*IBD = Intrahepatic Bile Duct
Source: NCI 2016. Seer Cancer Statistics Review, 1975-2013.  Tables 2.15 through 24.15
http://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2013/sections.html

 

5 Year Survival Rate:

Not available at this time.

 

Death Rate:

Cancer Death Rates per 100,000 – Men (2008-2012)

Cancer
American
Indian Men
Non-Hispanic White Men
American Indian/Non-Hispanic White Ratio
All Sites
183.0
207.2
0.9
Kidney & Renal Pelvis
9.0
5.9
1.5
Liver & IBD*
14.3
7.8
1.8
Stomach
7.4
3.5
2.1
Colon and Rectum
18.9
17.7
1.1
Prostate
19.1
19.2
1.0

 

Cancer Death Rates per 100,000 - Women (2009-2013)

Cancer
American Indian Women
Non-Hispanic White Women
American Indian/Non-Hispanic White Ratio
All Sites
132.3
147.3
0.9
Cervical
3.2
2.0
1.6
Kidney & Renal Pelvis
4.5
2.5
1.8
Liver & IBD*
6.8
3.2
2.1
Stomach
3.8
1.8
2.1
Breast
14.7
21.5
0.7
Colon and Rectum
15.1
12.5
1.2

IBD = Intrahepatic Bile Duct
Source: NCI 2016. Seer Cancer Statistics Review, 1975-2013. Table 1.21.
http://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2013/sections.html

 

Screening:

Breast Cancer

Percent of women age 40 and over who had a mammogram within the past 2 years, 2013 (crude)

American Indian/Alaska Native Women
Non-Hispanic White Women
American Indian/Alaska Native/Non-Hispanic White Ratio
62.6
67.6
0.9

Source: CDC, 2016. Health United States, 2015. Table 70.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus15.pdf [PDF | 13.02MB]

 

Cervical Cancer

Percent of women age 18 and over who had a Pap smear within the past 3 years, 2013 (crude)

American Indian/Alaska Native Women
Non-Hispanic White Women
American Indian/Alaska Native/Non-Hispanic White Ratio
70.1
68.4
1.0

Source: CDC, 2016. Health United States, 2015. Table 71.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus15.pdf [PDF | 13.02MB]

 

Colon Cancer

Adults aged 50-75 who had any colorectal test or procedure, 2013

American Indian/Alaska Native
Non-Hispanic White
American Indian/Alaska Native/Non-Hispanic White Ratio
49.3
60.4
0.8

Source: CDC, 2016. Health United States, 2015. Table 72.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus15.pdf [PDF | 13.02MB]
Last Modified: 11/3/2016 10:05:00 AM

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