American Indian and Alaska Native populations face a higher risk of many types of cancer.

Abstract

American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) populations have substantially higher rates of some cancers compared with white Americans, according to a study published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.1 Because the majority of US cancer statistics present AI/AN individuals as 1 large group, nationally aggregated data may not present an accurate picture because they do not take into account geographic differences in cancer incidence rates, she adds. The authors assessed data from the CDC's National Program of Cancer Registries and the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program from 2010 through 2015 in an effort to better understand cancer incidence rates and trends in the AI/AN population. They limited their analysis to areas known as purchased/referred care delivery area counties, which encompass or are adjacent to federally recognized tribal lands. Approximately 53% of the AI/AN population in the United States lives in one of these counties. Over time, these cancer incidence rates also increased significantly, the study found. Between 1999 and 2015, liver cancer increased 3.3% annually among AI/AN men while increasing 4.5% annually in AI/AN women. Over the same period, kidney cancer rates increased 2.4% for AI/AN men and 1.6% for AI/AN women annually. Colon cancer, however, decreased by 1.1% in AI/AN men, with no observed decreases noted in AI/AN women. In addition, breast cancer incidence rates increased by 0.9% annually in AI/AN women. The differences in the overall cancer incidence rates between AI/AN and white populations also increased over time. According to the authors, the findings of the study indicate the need to better understand regional variations in cancer incidence in the AI/AN population to analyze their cancer burden and develop targeted interventions that address these disparities.