Cancer incidence is not well defined among American Indians and Alaskan Natives (AI/ANs) in most parts of the country. Racial misclassification of AI/ANs in tumor registries has previously been found to result in underestimation of cancer incidence. We carried out this linkage study to estimate the current cancer incidence for AI/ANs in Washington and Idaho. We used probabilistic matching software to link Indian Health Service enrollment data to the Washington and Idaho cancer registries to identify cancers among AI/ANs in the two states. Incidence rates for AI/ANs before and after linkage were compared. For the three year period, 1995 to 1997, the linkage identified 207 cancer cases that were not previously recognized to have occurred among AI/ANs in the two states, resulting in a total of 458 cases for this analysis. After data linkage, overall annual cancer incidence rates approximately doubled the rates estimated before linkage (age-adjusted rate of 252 per 100,000 person-years). For more common cancer sites, such as breast and prostate, post linkage rates among AI/ANs were also higher than had been estimated prior to linkage (86 and 67 per 100,000 person-years, for breast and prostate, respectively). The post-linkage estimates indicate that cancer is a public health problem of greater magnitude than is apparent from the pre-linkage data. Our findings show the utility of using data linkage to improve cancer rate estimation, and emphasize the importance of using accurate data for setting health priorities for cancer education, prevention, and control.
Learning Objectives: Audience will learn how to improve cancer incidence estimates through data linkage in Native communities
Keywords: Cancer, Data/Surveillance
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: Northwest Tribal Epidemiology Center
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.