The Alaska Native Tumour Registry: fifty years of cancer surveillance data for Alaska Native people

ABSTRACT

Like other Indigenous Circumpolar populations, Alaska Native (AN) people experience different patterns of cancer than their non-Indigenous counterparts. Every 5 years, the Alaska Native Tumour Registry releases a comprehensive report on cancer among AN people; this study provides 50 years of cancer surveillance data. Five-year annual-average age-adjusted incidence rates were calculated for time-periods ranging 1969–2018. AN data were compared with data for US whites (SEER 9). Mortality rates were calculated for 1994–2018 using data from the National Center for Health Statistics. During 2014–2018, there were 2,401 cases of invasive cancer among AN people. Among these, the most commonly diagnosed cancers were colorectal (405 cases, 17% of all cancers), lung and bronchus (373 cases, 16% of all cancers), and female breast (340 cases, 14% of all cancers). Lung cancer was the leading cause of cancer death, followed by colorectal and female breast cancers. These leading cancers are screenable, and preventable through lifestyle modifications including tobacco cessation, healthy eating and engaging in physical activity. These data provide important information to support cancer prevention and control among AN people. Cancer surveillance has been a valuable tool throughout the Circumpolar North to support reducing the burden of cancer among Indigenous populations.

Abbreviations: ANAI: Alaska Native/American Indian; AN: Alaska Native; USW: U.S. White(s); ANMC: Alaska Native Medical Center; ANTR: Alaska Native Tumour Registry; IR: Incidence Rate; CI: Confidence Interval; RR: Rate Ratio; ICD-O-3: International Classification of Diseases for Oncology – Third Edition; SEER: Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results.

KEYWORDS:

• Native American
• cancer surveillance
• cancer registry
• Indigenous

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Supplementary material

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Additional information

Funding

Dr. Nash, Mr. Zimpelman, Ms. Miller and the Alaska Native Tumor Registry are supported by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Program, NCI contract number HHSN26120130010I, Task Order HHSN26100005. Mr. Clark and Dr. Britton are supported by the CDC award # NU58DP006379, Building Public Health Infrastructure for Alaska Native People Component A.