Abstract
Background: Cancer is the leading cause of death among Alaska Native (AN) people. Indigenous people throughout the Circumpolar North experience different patterns of cancer incidence and mortality. The Alaska Native Tumor Registry (ANTR) was established for cancer surveillance among Alaska Native and American Indian (ANAI) people living in Alaska, with data available going back to 1969. Every 5 years, the ANTR releases a comprehensive report on cancer among AN people; latest study provides 50 years of cancer surveillance data. Methods: Cancer data were collected by the ANTR a population-based central cancer registry that records information on AN people. The ANTR has been collecting cancer information according to NCI SEER Program standards since 1969, and has been a full member of the SEER Program since 1999. Five-year annual-average age-adjusted incidence rates were calculated for time-periods ranging 1969–2018. AN data was compared with data for US whites (SEER 9). Mortality rates were calculated for 1994–2018 using data from the National Center for Health Statistics. Results: An estimated 144,274 Alaska Native/American Indian people resided in Alaska in 2015, comprising 19.5% of the Alaskan population. During 2014–2018, there were 2,401 cases of invasive cancer among AN people. The most commonly diagnosed cancers were colorectal (405 cases, 17% of all cancers), lung (373 cases, 16 cancers), and female breast (340 cases, 14% of all cancers). The majority of cancers (40%) were diagnosed at local stage, with 24% diagnosed at regional stage, and 30% at distant stage. However, the pattern varied by cancer site. Among colorectal cancers, just over one third were diagnosed at local and regional stages each, with one quarter diagnosed at distant stage. Over half of lung cancers were diagnosed at distant stage. Among the leading cancers, lung cancer mortality was 1.3 times higher among AN people, and colorectal cancer 2.8 times higher among AN people. Female breast cancer mortality rates were not significantly different between AN people and US White population. Conclusion: Lung cancer was the leading cause of cancer death, followed by colorectal and female breast cancers. These leading cancers are screenable, and preventable through lifestyle modifications. These data provide important information to support cancer prevention and control among AN people. Cancer surveillance has been a valuable tool throughout the Circumpolar North to support reducing the burden of cancer among Indigenous populations.
Citation Format: Elena Roik. The Alaska Native Tumor Registry: Fifty years of cancer surveillance data for Alaska Native people [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 15th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2022 Sep 16-19; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2022;31(1 Suppl):Abstract nr IA015.
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