Merrill posited that prior to epidemiologists designing researches with the aim of analyzing the causal factors of specific cancers; they were to exhaustively comprehend the distribution of the illness and new cases within various communities, races and populations. That was meant to determine if the disease occurred in groups and the abnormality in the environment with higher rates of occurrences. Other characteristics considered by the scientists included gender and the distribution differences between ethnic, racial and economic backgrounds (p.245).
It was noted that cancer incidences in juveniles were lower compared to adults yet it was the second leading cause of mortality amongst juveniles in America. It was approximated that over nine thousand new cases were reported in children in 2006. Two thirds of the cases consisted of brain cancer, lymphoma and leukemia. It was also noted that the survival rates of childhood cancers improved from 56% to 79% between 1974 and 2001.
The study revealed that cancer occurrence rates in children below 15 years were on increase since early 1970s. The increases were on brain cancer, lymphoblastic leukemia, Wilms’ tumor and osteogenic sarcoma. The rise was unlikely to be as a result of enhanced diagnostic standards, timely reporting or statistical variability. The rationale behind the rise was unknown although numerous theories on potential environmental causal factors were proposed (Franco & Rohan, 2002).
Approximately, one of every two males and one out of every three females in America would acquire an invasive cancer. The findings dismissed the idea that cancer was a rare disease and also represented a huge burden of corporeal pain, pecuniary costs and mental distress for the affected families. Latest trends depicted that cancer occurrences were comparatively stable in men but increased in women in the duration that covered 1995 to 2002.
This was attributed to the fact that the number of smokers amongst the female population increased compared to that of the male population. The study also found that the occurrence of colon and rectal cancer reduced in both populations while prostate and female breast cancer increased in the duration covering 1998 to 2002. Amongst the male population, the prostate gland was the prime part of the body affected by cancer.
The study disclosed that three out of ten men who developed cancer in America were likely to have prostate cancer. Lung cancer which was more fatal compared to other cancers was noted to be on the decrease due to reduction in cigarette smoking by the male population. In the female population, breast cancer was ranked first in the more commonly diagnosed cancers representing more than a third of all the cases. Lung cancer occurrence in women stabilized since 1998 after surpassing both colon and rectal cancers. This was attributed to the decline in smoking pervasiveness amongst women since 1985. Pervasiveness in females with lower than 12 years of education was estimated to be three times higher compared to those with 16 years and above (Merrill, 2010).
A study carried out in the United States to compare new cancer cases and deaths by state disclosed that the range was noticeably wide with the bigger states such as California and New York reporting more cases compared to the smaller ones. This was accredited to age, ethnicity, lifestyles and environmental factors. The research further revealed that cancer mortality rates were higher in African American men compared to their Caucasian counterparts. The total occurrence rate was 23% with 40% mortality rates amongst African American men than in the Caucasians. African American women on the other hand presented a 7% lower cancer incidence than the Caucasian counterparts while mortality rate was 18% higher (Franco & Rohan, 2002).
The study observed that Hispanics, Alaskans and American Indians portrayed a complicated pattern of cancer occurrences and deaths with almost all reporting increased site-specific cancer rates and reduced rates compared to the Whites. The minority groups were noted to have higher occurrences and deaths related to uterine, cervix, liver and stomach cancers than the whites. Lower rates of breast, colon, rectal and lung cancers were noted in Asian Americans compared to the Caucasians and had increased rates of occurrences and deaths from liver cancers compared to other groups (Franco & Rohan, 2002).
Sources of data used in the determination of the descriptive epidemiology of cancer included medical reports and electronic publications from organizations such as the National Cancer Institute that conducted surveillance, epidemiology and end results programs over roughly 26% of the American population. Other notable source of data was the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer and the American cancer society that provided both online and print documents on cancer. The sources were regularly updated and analyzed to provide the current information and trends on cancer incidences (Merrill, 2010).
An example of exposure and outcome theory created from epidemiological data on cancer was the association between smoking and cancer in both gender and also education and cancer incidences amongst women. The study noted that increase in the number of smokers led to increase in cancer occurrences while decrease in smoking led to lower incidences. It also observed that increased levels of education led to reduced incidences of cancer.
References:
Franco, E. L., & Rohan, T. E. (2002). Cancer Precursors: Epidemiology, Detection, and Prevention. New York City: Springer,.
Merrill, R. (2010). Introduction to Epidemiology. Burlington, Massachusetts: Jones & Bartlett Learning.