Comparison of Age-standardized Cancer Mortality*, All Races, for Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont with the United States, 2013–2017
ARTICLE ABSTRACT
We tested the hypotheses that adult cancer incidence and mortality in the Northeast region and in Northern New England (NNE) were different than the rest of the United States (US), and described other related cancer metrics and risk factor prevalence. Using national, publicly available cancer registry data, we compared cancer incidence and mortality in the Northeast region with the US and NNE with the US overall and by race/ethnicity, using age-standardized cancer incidence and rate ratios (RR). Compared to the US, age-adjusted cancer incidence in adults of all races combined was higher in the Northeast (RR 1.07; 95% confidence interval 1.07-1.08) and in NNE (RR 1.06; 1.05-1.07). However, compared to the US, mortality was lower in the Northeast (RR 0.98; 0.98-0.98) but higher in NNE (RR 1.05; 1.03-1.06). Mortality in NNE was higher than the US for cancers of the brain (RR 1.16; 1.07-1.26), uterus (RR 1.32; 1.14-1.52), esophagus (RR 1.36; 1.26-1.47), lung (RR 1.12; 1.09-1.15), bladder (RR 1.23; 1.14-1.33) and melanoma (RR 1.13; 1.01-1.27). Significantly higher overall cancer incidence was seen in the Northeast than the US in all race/ethnicity subgroups except Native American/Alaska Natives (RR 0.68; 0.64-0.72). In conclusion, Northern New England has higher cancer incidence and mortality than the US, a pattern that contrasts with the Northeast region, which has lower cancer mortality overall than the US despite higher incidence.
