Invasive cancer incidence - Puerto Rico, 2007-2011

Abstract

Cancer is a leading cause of morbidity and death in Puerto Rico. To set a baseline for identifying new trends and patterns of cancer incidence, Puerto Rico Central Cancer Registry staff and CDC analyzed data from Puerto Rico included in U.S. Cancer Statistics (USCS) for 2007-2011, the most recent data available. This is the first report of invasive cancer incidence rates for 2007-2011 among Puerto Rican residents by sex, age, cancer site, and municipality. Cancer incidence rates in Puerto Rico were compared with those in the U.S. population for 2011. A total of 68,312 invasive cancers were diagnosed and reported in Puerto Rico during 2007-2011. The average annual incidence rate was 330 cases per 100,000 persons. The cancer sites with the highest cancer incidence rates included prostate (152), female breast (84), and colon and rectum (43). Cancer incidence rates varied by municipality, particularly for prostate, lung and bronchus, and colon and rectum cancers. In 2011, cancer incidence rates in Puerto Rico were lower for all cancer sites and lung and bronchus, but higher for prostate and thyroid cancers, compared with rates within the U.S.

Population: Identifying these variations can aid evaluation of factors associated with high incidence, such as cancer screening practices, and development of targeted cancer prevention and control efforts. Public health professionals can monitor cancer incidence trends and use these findings to evaluate the impact of prevention efforts, such as legislation prohibiting tobacco use in the workplace and public places and the Puerto Rico Cessation Quitline in decreasing lung and other tobacco-related cancers.

FIGURE 1

Age-adjusted rates* of invasive cancer^† incidence by selected primary cancer site, geographic location, race and ethnicity — National Program of Cancer Registries and the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program^§, Puerto Rico and United States, 2011 * Incidence rates are per 100,000 persons and are age-adjusted to the 2000 U.S. standard population. ^† Excludes basal and squamous cell carcinomas of the skin except when these occur on the skin of the genital organs, and in situ cancers except urinary bladder. ^§ Compiled from cancer registries that meet the data-quality criteria for all invasive cancer sites combined (representing 99% of the U.S. population).

FIGURE 2

Age-adjusted incidence rates* of invasive cancer^† by selected primary cancer sites and municipality – National Program of Cancer Registries, Puerto Rico, 2007–2011 * Incidence rates are per 100,000 persons and are age-adjusted to the 2000 U.S. standard population. ^† Excludes basal and squamous cell carcinomas of the skin except when these occur on the skin of the genital organs, and in situ cancers except urinary bladder. ^§ Data not given because <16 cases were reported.