Colorectal Cancer in Alaska Native People, 2005–2009

摘要

BACKGROUND: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the most frequently diagnosed cancer among Alaska Native (AN) people, and the second leading cause of cancer death. The incidence rate for the combined years 1999 through 2003 was 30% higher than the rate among U.S. whites (USWs) for the same period. Current incidence rates may serve to monitor the impact of screening programs in reducing CRC in the AN population. METHODS: Incidence data are from the Alaska Native Tumor Registry and the National Cancer Institute Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program. We compared AN CRC incidence, survival rates, and stage at diagnosis with rates in USWs for cases diagnosed from 2005 through 2009. Relative survival calculations were produced in SEER*Stat by the actuarial method. RESULTS: The CRC age-adjusted incidence rate among AN men and women combined was higher than those in USW men and women (84 vs. 43/100,000; P 1 – 3 Reports of American Indian and Alaska Native populations (AI/AN), typically combined as a single group, have CRC incidence rates lower than that of USBs and USWs. 4 , 5 The Alaska Native Tumor Registry (ANTR) has reported higher rates of CRC among AN people compared with that in major U.S. populations for more than 30 years. 6 From 1969 to 2003, CRC incidence increased 25% among AN people, whereas among USWs, incidence has declined since 1986. 3 Current incidence rates of CRC may serve to monitor the impact of expanded CRC screening and cancer education programs in effect in recent years. A description of CRC among AN people and current incidence rates and trends are presented in this report. The AN population of 130,000 comprises many tribes and ethnic groups across Alaska that may be broadly grouped as Inupiat and Yupik Eskimo (northern and western coasts); Athabascan (interior region), Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian Indian (southeast); and Aleut (Aleutian Island chain and Alaska peninsula) populations. Approximately 23% of AN people live in the state's largest urban center, Anchorage.