Disparities in Cancer Mortality Rates in United States
Location
Poster #15
Department
Biology
Abstract
In the United States, people from different backgrounds face different consequences and impacts of cancer. This is known as cancer disparities and it is the occurrence of elevated rates of new cancer diagnosis and/or cancer-related deaths within distinct population groups. Researching disparity in cancer death rate is critical because we can monitor trends, recognize emerging challenges, track the effectiveness of interventions, and make public health decisions that improve and save lives. In this project we aimed to determine how the top 3 cancer death rates are distributed among males and females by race and region in the United States. For the purpose of this study we used the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cancer mortality rates data between the years 2016 to 2020. We specifically focused on the top 3 causes of cancer death among males and females to make our results more meaningful, namely cancers of the lung, breast, and colon in females, and lung, prostate and colon in males. Using R, and packages like Leaflet, we created 8 geospatial models - 4 for each gender, separated by race across different regions of the United States. We studied cancer mortality rates for males and females in the white, black, Asian, and Hispanic populations. We found that both black males and females exhibit higher rates of cancer deaths compared to other races. The Southern and Midwest regions of the US show higher cancer death rates for black males while higher death rates for black females occur in the Midwest region only. Interestingly, cancer death rates are higher in the state of Kentucky and West Virginia among white males. Our geospatial models using CDC data reflect that cancer death rates are higher in black population and in Southern and Midwestern regions of the United States. Further research delving into specific factors for the disparities is necessary. Investigating variables such as access to health care, resource accessibility information, and socioeconomic status and how they tie to the disparities reported could help guide allocation of resources to address these inequalities.
Faculty Sponsor
Hardik Marfatia
Disparities in Cancer Mortality Rates in United States
Poster #15
In the United States, people from different backgrounds face different consequences and impacts of cancer. This is known as cancer disparities and it is the occurrence of elevated rates of new cancer diagnosis and/or cancer-related deaths within distinct population groups. Researching disparity in cancer death rate is critical because we can monitor trends, recognize emerging challenges, track the effectiveness of interventions, and make public health decisions that improve and save lives. In this project we aimed to determine how the top 3 cancer death rates are distributed among males and females by race and region in the United States. For the purpose of this study we used the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cancer mortality rates data between the years 2016 to 2020. We specifically focused on the top 3 causes of cancer death among males and females to make our results more meaningful, namely cancers of the lung, breast, and colon in females, and lung, prostate and colon in males. Using R, and packages like Leaflet, we created 8 geospatial models - 4 for each gender, separated by race across different regions of the United States. We studied cancer mortality rates for males and females in the white, black, Asian, and Hispanic populations. We found that both black males and females exhibit higher rates of cancer deaths compared to other races. The Southern and Midwest regions of the US show higher cancer death rates for black males while higher death rates for black females occur in the Midwest region only. Interestingly, cancer death rates are higher in the state of Kentucky and West Virginia among white males. Our geospatial models using CDC data reflect that cancer death rates are higher in black population and in Southern and Midwestern regions of the United States. Further research delving into specific factors for the disparities is necessary. Investigating variables such as access to health care, resource accessibility information, and socioeconomic status and how they tie to the disparities reported could help guide allocation of resources to address these inequalities.