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Cancer and American Indians/Alaska Natives

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 2012-2016, 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 40 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 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 than non-Hispanic white women.
  • American Indians/Alaska Natives are less likely to undergo diagnostic cancer screenings than non-Hispanic whites.

Diagnosis

Age-adjusted percentages of cancer among adults aged 18 and over, 2018
Cancer American Indian/Alaska Native Non-Hispanic White American Indian/Alaska Native/Non-Hispanic White Ratio
All Sites 7.1 9.9 0.7
Breast (women) 1.0 3.3 0.3
Cervical (women) -- 1.1 --
Prostate (men) -- 2.1 --

Source: CDC, 2020. Summary Health Statistics: National Health Interview Survey: 2018. Table A-3a.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis/shs/tables.htm

 

Top Cancer Sites for American Indian/Alaska Natives (2012-2016)

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 315.3 505.5 0.5
Colon & Rectum 41.2 44.1 0.9
Esophagus 5.9 8.3 0.7
Kidney 21.2 23.1 0.9
Liver & IBD 19.3 10.8 1.8
Lung 43.3 67.5 0.6
Oral Cavity & Pharynx 11.8 19.3 0.6
Pancreas 11.4 15.1 0.8
Prostate 55.4 104.5 0.5
Stomach 11.5 8.2 1.4

Source: NCI 2020. Seer Cancer Statistics Review, 1975-2016. Tables 2.15 through 24.15
https://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2016/sections.html

 

Top Cancer Sites for American Indian/Alaska Natives (2012-2016)

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 306.0 448.0 0.7
Breast 79.5 136.6 0.6
Cervical 7.4 6.6 1.2
Colon & Rectum 37.9 34.3 1.1
Esophagus 1.7 1.9 0.9
Kidney 13.1 11.1 1.2
Liver & IBD 8.5 3.7 2.3
Lung 33.9 56.0 0.6
Oral Cavity & Pharynx 5.3 7.0 0.8
Pancreas 8.0 11.5 0.7
Stomach 6.4 3.8 1.7
Uterus 19.7 28.5 0.7

Source: NCI 2020. Seer Cancer Statistics Review, 1975-2016. Tables 2.15 through 24.15
https://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2016/sections.html

 

5 Year Survival Rate:

Not available at this time.

 

Death Rate

Cancer Death Rates per 100,000 – Men (2012-2016)
Cancer American Indian/Alaska Native Men Non-Hispanic
White Men		 American Indian/Alaska Native/Non-Hispanic White Ratio
All Sites 176.3 197.3 0.9
Colon & Rectum 19.1 16.6 1.2
Kidney 8.1 5.7 1.4
Liver & IBD 14.4 8.3 1.7
Lung 42.0 54.1 0.8
Prostate 19.2 18.1 1.1
Stomach 6.9 3.3 2.1

Source: NCI 2020. Seer Cancer Statistics Review, 1975-2016. Table 1.20
https://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2016/sections.html

 

Cancer Death Rates per 100,000 – Women (2012-2016)
Cancer American Indian/Alaska Native Women Non-Hispanic
White Women		 American Indian/Alaska Native/Non-Hispanic White Ratio
All Sites 124.9 141.9 0.9
Breast 14.3 20.6 0.7
Cervical 2.8 2.1 1.3
Colon & Rectum 13.0 11.9 1.2
Kidney 3.8 2.4 1.6
Liver & IBD 7.4 3.4 2.1
Lung 29.4 38.0 0.8
Stomach 3.6 1.7 2.0
Uterus 3.5 4.4 0.8

Source: NCI 2020. Seer Cancer Statistics Review, 1975-2016. Table 1.20
https://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2016/sections.html

 

Screening

Breast Cancer

Percentage of women age 40 and over who had a mammogram within the past 2 years, 2015 (crude)
American Indian/Alaska Native Women Non-Hispanic
White Women		 American Indian/Alaska Native
/Non-Hispanic White Ratio
51.5 65.8 0.8

Source: CDC, 2019. Health United States, 2018. Table 33.
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus18.pdf [PDF | 1.56MB]

 

Cervical Cancer

Percentage of women age 18 and over who had a Pap smear within the past 3 years, 2015 (crude)
American Indian/Alaska Native Women Non-Hispanic
White Women		 American Indian/Alaska Native
/Non-Hispanic White Ratio
60.9 68.4 0.9

Source: CDC, 2019. Health United States, 2018. Table 34.
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus18.pdf [PDF | 1.56MB]

 

Colon Cancer

Adults aged 50-75 who had any colorectal test or procedure, 2015
American Indian/Alaska Native Non-Hispanic White American Indian/Alaska Native
/Non-Hispanic White Ratio
48.7 65.4 0.7

Source: National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Reports. Data Query: Table 7_5_1_3_1.1 [Accessed 2/11/2020]
http://nhqrnet.ahrq.gov/inhqrdr/data/query

Last Modified: 2/28/2020 2:48:00 PM

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