Researchers examine cancer mortality risk factors by region in U.S.

Researchers at Case Western Reserve University found that risk factors historically associated with cancer deaths vary by region in the United States, so they believe these differences should be considered when developing specific public health interventions.

For example, Western states have the lowest cancer mortality rate per 100,000 residents. Among those who die from any type of cancer, risk factors such as obesity, sedentary lifestyle and diabetes surpass smoking and alcohol use as major behavioral risk factors.

At the same time, in the southern states, which have the highest cancer death rate per 100,000 residents, smoking is the leading behavioral risk factor associated with cancer deaths.

Researchers focused on a wide range of risk factors known to contribute to and help prevent cancer deaths, including health behaviors and socioeconomic characteristics, demographic and environmental factors, prevalence of comorbid diseases, getting cancer screenings and receiving treatment and survivorship assistance.

"This innovative approach to data analysis - using existing behavioral risk factor data and a new location-based machine learning method - shows the potential for more accurate data analysis with practical applications in addressing cancer treatment and prevention," said lead study author Weichuan Dong, a health researcher at Population Cancer Analytics Shared Resource at Case Comprehensive Cancer Center.

The article, "Variations and Factors Associated with Cancer Mortality in U.S. Counties, 2008-2019," was published in the journal JAMA Network Open.

This geospatial study used county-level data from the National Center for Health Statistics on people who died of cancer between 2008 and 2019. The study included 7.2 million people (median age 70-74; 3.4 million women [47.5%]) who died of cancer in 3108 contiguous U.S. counties.

Follow NEWS.am Medicine on Facebook and Twitter