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May 10, 2001
Loma Linda University Cancer Institute
Cancer Surveillance
Program releases new data
While men in Inyo, Mono, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties
now face a declining risk of cancer, the risk to women in the four-county
region has remained constant in recent years, according to a report
of cancer incidence and mortality from 1988 to 1998 released by
the Desert Sierra Cancer Surveillance Program (DSCSP) at a press
conference on Wednesday, April 25.
Death from cervical cancer has risen among non-Hispanic white women
while declining statewide—a troubling indicator given the screening
tests available, according to researchers at Loma Linda University
Cancer Institute, which operates the DSCSP.
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| Mr. Cheatham (right) introduces
Dr. Morgan (left) and Dr. King who released new data on cancer
incidence and mortality during a press conference held Wednesday,
April 25. |
According to Alan King, MD, medical director of the DSCSP, cervical
cancer is completely preventable with proper screening.
Cervical cancer is often associated with the presence of human papilloma
virus, a condition that can lead to cancer if not detected in time.
But the virus is easily detected and treated even in medically underserved
women with the many low-cost programs available.
“There should be no cases of cervical cancer,” said John
Morgan, DrPH, cancer epidemiologist with the program. “These
are deaths that should not be occurring.”
Drs. King and Morgan encouraged women to seek out low- or no-cost
screening programs, such as the breast and cervical cancer early
detection program, through their county health department.
“There are two screening tests that save lives. The most important
is the Pap test. X-ray mammography is the second most important,”
Dr. King said. “We know we can detect breast cancer earlier
with mammography. The risk of dying from breast cancer is decreased
by 60 percent if you get regular mammograms.”
According to the report, the continuation of the unacceptably high
overall risk of cancer among women in the region, the state, and
the nation is the consequence of a failure by women to reduce cigarette
smoking since the 1970s. However, women in the Desert Sierra region
did exhibit a steady decline in the risk of colorectal cancer.
According to the researchers, the decline in age-adjusted risk of
cancer among men is consistent with similar declines measured statewide
and nationally. They attribute the decline to reductions in tobacco
use by men since the 1970s, early detection of premalignant intestinal
polyps, and early detection of prostate cancer as the result of
prostate-specific antigen testing.
From 1994 to 1998, Desert Sierra men and women had higher age-adjusted
incidence and mortality rates for lung and bronchus cancer than
the statewide average. The Desert Sierra population also had higher
mortality rates for all cancers combined and for cancers originating
in the colon and rectum, colon, and kidney and renal pelvis. These
findings are consistent with the slightly higher prevalence of tobacco
smoking measured in Riverside and San Bernardino counties when compared
to the statewide average and with delayed diagnosis of screen-detectable
cancers in the region when compared to the state. Lung and bronchus
cancer accounted for 1,409 of the 4,916 cancer deaths among DSCSP
residents in 1998.
The report also found that both men and women in the Desert Sierra
region had a lower incidence for some cancers compared with the
rest of the state, including cancers that start in the liver and
stomach. They also had a lower risk for Kaposi’s sarcoma and
non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which is consistent with the lower
prevalence of HIV/AIDS reported in this region when compared to
the Bay Area and Los Angeles County.
The annual report is the program’s sixth on cancer incidence
and the third on cancer mortality released for the four counties.
It uses data for new cancer cases added into the DSCSP active database
prior to September 14, 2000, and deaths from cancer among residents
of the region from 1988 to 1998.
The desert sierra cancer surveillance program (DSCSP) is one of
10 regional population-based cancer registries that, since 1988,
form the California Cancer Registry (CCR).
The DSCSP serves as Region 5 of the CCR, California’s legally
mandated cancer reporting system. As one of the largest population-based
cancer registries in the world, the CCR provides cancer surveillance
for the 33 million residents of California.
This state-of-the-art cancer surveillance system provides measurement
of cancer incidence in California with details regarding age, gender,
and race/ethnicity; assessment of regional cancer rates, trends,
and concerns in each of 10 regions of California; and a rich, confidential
database that supports research into the causes of cancer and identification
of methods that maximize utilization of cancer control and prevention.
Since 1988, Loma Linda University Cancer Institute, part of Loma
Linda University Medical Center, has received funding from the California
Department of Health Services for operation of the DSCSP, which
serves approximately one-tenth of the California population.
Late in 1995, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention awarded
additional funds for expansion of the research component of the
DSCSP and for development of an annual scientific report of cancer
incidence in the region. In 1999, assessment of cancer mortality
within the DSCSP was added to the annual report.
At the press conference, researchers announced that the California
Cancer Registry, and with it the DSCSP, has been designated a new
member of the National Cancer Institute’s surveillance, epidemiology,
and end results (SEER) program. The SEER program collects cancer
data on a routine basis from designated population-based cancer
registries in various areas of the United States. The data used
in this system provides trends in cancer incidence, mortality, and
patient survival, and represents the most important source for formulating
national cancer control policy and new epidemiologic research in
the United States.
For more information on cancer surveillance, prevention, screening,
early diagnosis, or treatment, call the cancer information and referral
service at (800) 78-CANCER (782-2623). This is a community service
provided by Loma Linda University Cancer Institute.
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