Expanded Racial/Ethnic
Data Available in DevCan
New data sets are available for DevCan software that enable the
calculation of lifetime and age-conditional probabilities of developing
or dying from major cancers for several more racial/ethnic groups.
Previous versions of the DevCan software produced risk estimates
only for whites, blacks, and all races combined. Selected DevCan
results using the new racial/ethnic databases are discussed in
a recent article [see Miller
et al., 2006]. Although
racial/ethnic disparities in the lifetime risk of cancer may be
due to differences in the incidence of cancer among the groups,
the disparities may also reflect differential mortality rates from
causes other than the cancer of interest. Furthermore, because
cross-sectional incidence and mortality rates are used in calculating
the DevCan risk estimates, results must be interpreted with caution
when events, such as the widespread and rapid implementation of
a new screening test, are known to have influenced disease rates.
Racial/ethnic data centered on 1990
The racial/ethnic data have been expanded to enable cancer risk
comparisons among American Indian/Aleut/Eskimo, black, Chinese,
Filipino, native Hawaiian, Japanese, all Asian and Pacific
Islander groups combined, white (total, non-Hispanic), and Hispanic
populations [download DevCan databases].
These data are centered on 1990 because the population estimates
needed to calculate disease rates for the detailed racial/ethnic
groups are available only from the 1990 decennial Census. To derive
the probabilities of developing cancer for the detailed racial/ethnic
groups, incidence rates were based on cancer diagnoses from the
following SEER reporting areas: metropolitan Atlanta and 10 nearby
rural Georgia counties; Detroit, Los Angeles, San Francisco/Oakland,
San Jose/ Monterey, and Seattle/Puget Sound; and the states of
Alaska (American Indian/Aleut/Eskimo populations only), Connecticut,
Hawaii, Iowa, New Mexico, and Utah. Incidence data from the state
of Connecticut are not included in the Hispanic and non-Hispanic
white calculations because of the large proportion of patients
in that registry for whom Hispanic ethnicity is unknown. When calculating
the probabilities of developing cancer, mortality data are based
on the same SEER regions that were included in the incidence
rate calculations. When calculating the probabilities of dying
from cancer, the mortality data are based on all United States
deaths, with the following exceptions. The states of Connecticut,
Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New
York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Vermont, and Virginia and the District
of Columbia are excluded from the Hispanic mortality calculations
because of high proportions of patients with unknown Hispanic
ethnicity [see SEER's
Policy for Calculating Hispanic Mortality].
Racial/ethnic data for 1993 forward
It would be desirable to have a detailed racial/ethnic data base
centered on the 2000 decennial Census, but data limitations make
this infeasible at the present time. In the 2000 census, multiple-race
responses were tabulated from individuals of mixed heritage;
however, most hospital records and death certificates contain
only single-race information. Methods for “bridging” the
multiple-race population denominator data to single-race categories,
to make them more comparable to the numerator data, are based
on statistical models that have been developed only for major
race groups (white, black, Asian/Pacific Islander, American Indian/Aleut/Eskimo)
[see the NCHS report, Census
2000 Population with Bridged Race Categories (PDF)].
Consequently, DevCan risk estimates are limited to these four racial groups and to Hispanic
populations. These estimates are available for 1993-2004 white, black, Asian/Pacific Islander,
American Indian/Alaska Native, and Hispanic data
[download DevCan databases].
|