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2023

SEER data shows low rates of genetic testing between 2013-2019

June 5, 2023 - JAMA Networkt Tweet

Cancer risk factors, like exposure to cancer-causing chemicals, raise the chance that a person will develop cancer in their lifetime. Some of these risk factors are things people can control; for example, smoking increases the risk of developing 13 different types of cancer. Other cancer risk factors, like our genetics, are not as easy to control. But, doctors can look for changes in genes that raise cancer risk and take proactive steps—like more cancer screening—to help patients manage this increased risk. And, even if someone is diagnosed with cancer, genetic testing can help doctors find the right drug that can target the cancer at the genetic level.

Researchers at Stanford University used the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program to understand how many cancer survivors received genetic testing between 2013 and 2019 in California and Georgia. Out of the entire de-identified group of over 1.3 million cancer patients, only about 93,000 people, or 6.8%, received genetic testing. The rate of genetic testing increased from 2013 to 2019. But, genetic testing rates were not the same across all racial and ethnic groups. Asian, Black, and Hispanic patients had lower rates of genetic testing compared to White patients. Genetic testing rates also did not meet medical guidelines for ovarian, male breast, and pancreatic cancers. The researchers call for increased access to genetic testing to both improve survival and reduce unequal cancer burdens across racial and ethnic groups.

Childhood cancer survivors at higher risk of death decades after diagnosis

April 5, 2023 – The Lancet Tweet

The 5-year relative survival rate measures how many people have not died from their cancer 5 years after diagnosis. But, what about survival rates past 5 years, especially for cancer survivors who were diagnosed as children? While the 5-year survival rate for childhood cancers continues to increase and survivors can live for decades post-diagnosis, cancer and its treatments can take away years of life from patients. Researchers at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital used the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program to study these differences in lifetimes and causes of death among childhood cancer survivors decades after diagnosis.

The researchers used de-identified cancer registry data to find childhood cancer patients who were: 1. diagnosed before their 21st birthday, 2. survived 5 or more years after diagnosis and 3. were diagnosed between January 1, 1970 and December 31, 1999. With these factors, the researchers created a study population representing about 20% of all childhood cancer survivors during the 30-year study window. The researchers found that, 20 years after diagnosis, these cancer survivors have 4 times the risk of death from causes like new cancers, heart disease, the flu, and pneumonia than the risk of death in the general population. The investigators point to the late effects of cancer therapies, including radiation of the chest and head and certain types of chemotherapies as reasons for the increase in deaths. However, the investigators also found some evidence that maintaining healthy lifestyle behaviors can reduce the risk of death in these cancer survivors by 20%.

Colorectal cancer shifts to younger patients

March 1, 2023 – ACS Journals Tweet

Colorectal cancer is among the top five most common cancers in the United States. According to the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Cancer Stat Facts sheets, colorectal cancer is responsible for the second most cancer-related deaths in the US each year. Every three years, the American Cancer Society releases a report on colorectal cancer in the United States. The report includes data from the SEER Program and used the National Cancer Institute’s SEER*Stat software to calculate incidence and mortality rates.

The investigators estimated that there will be 153,000 new colorectal cancer diagnoses and 52,550 colorectal cancer deaths in 2023. While overall rates of new colorectal cancer cases decreased, the proportion of new cases in people younger than 55 years nearly doubled from 11% in 1995 to 20% in 2019. Over this same period, and in people younger than 65 years, more colorectal cancer cases were diagnosed in the regional and distant stages. These stages represent more advanced disease, where the cancer has spread from the original tumor. Similarly, overall deaths from colorectal cancer decreased by 2% each year from 2011 to 2020 but increased between 0.5 and 3% each year for people younger than 50.

Along with an increase in cases for younger people, colorectal cancer disparities continue. The investigators found that the rate of new cases is highest overall for American Indian/Alaska Natives and Non-Hispanic Blacks. Compared with Non-Hispanic White men, the death rate from colorectal cancer for American Indian/Alaska Native men is almost four times higher.

However, the investigators did see improvements in colorectal cancer survival rates. From the mid-1970s to the six-year period from 2012-2018, the 5-year relative survival rate increased from 50% to 65%. As of January 1, 2022, over 1.4 million people in the US were alive after a colorectal cancer diagnosis. While colorectal cancer screening rates remain low, previous research suggests colonoscopy helped reduce both incidence and mortality from the disease.

SEER data helps estimate US population living with metastatic prostate cancer

February 15, 2023 – American Association for Cancer Research Tweet

The number of people alive ever diagnosed with cancer is called “cancer prevalence,” and includes people who were recently diagnosed, in treatment, cured, or whose cancer returned. When cancer is diagnosed, cancer registries will gather information about the disease’s stage. However, these registries will not follow up about that cancer’s progression to later stages or its return after treatment. This means the population of metastatic cancer survivors—people living the most advanced stage disease—may not be accurately represented in current cancer data. For diseases like prostate cancer, the most common invasive cancer affecting men in the US, cancer registries are likely underestimating the true number of metastatic cancer survivors.

Researchers at NCI’s Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences (DCCPS), including Drs. Theresa Devasia and Angela Mariotto of the Surveillance Research Program, used SEER prostate cancer and mortality data together with modeling to estimate the number of men living with metastatic prostate cancer in the United States. In 2018, the investigators found about 120,400 men were living with metastatic prostate cancer in the US, which is almost 4% of the entire population of US prostate cancer survivors. Of this group of metastatic prostate cancer survivors, about 45% were diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer, while the other 55% were diagnosed with earlier stages and later progressed to metastatic disease. By 2030, the researchers predict 208,500 men will be living with metastatic prostate cancer, due to projected improvements in treatments and survival.

Higher rates of certain cancers found for military air and ground crew compared to general population

February 8, 2023 – Department of Defense Tweet

Colorectal cancer is among the top five most common cancers in the United States. According to the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Cancer Stat Facts sheets, colorectal cancer is responsible for the second most cancer-related deaths in the US each year. Every three years, the American Cancer Society releases a report on colorectal cancer in the United States. The report includes data from the SEER Program and used the National Cancer Institute’s SEER*Stat software to calculate incidence and mortality rates.

The investigators estimated that there will be 153,000 new colorectal cancer diagnoses and 52,550 colorectal cancer deaths in 2023. While overall rates of new colorectal cancer cases decreased, the proportion of new cases in people younger than 55 years nearly doubled from 11% in 1995 to 20% in 2019. Over this same period, and in people younger than 65 years, more colorectal cancer cases were diagnosed in the regional and distant stages. These stages represent more advanced disease, where the cancer has spread from the original tumor. Similarly, overall deaths from colorectal cancer decreased by 2% each year from 2011 to 2020 but increased between 0.5 and 3% each year for people younger than 50.

Along with an increase in cases for younger people, colorectal cancer disparities continue. The investigators found that the rate of new cases is highest overall for American Indian/Alaska Natives and Non-Hispanic Blacks. Compared with Non-Hispanic White men, the death rate from colorectal cancer for American Indian/Alaska Native men is almost four times higher.

However, the investigators did see improvements in colorectal cancer survival rates. From the mid-1970s to the six-year period from 2012-2018, the 5-year relative survival rate increased from 50% to 65%. As of January 1, 2022, over 1.4 million people in the US were alive after a colorectal cancer diagnosis. While colorectal cancer screening rates remain low, previous research suggests colonoscopy helped reduce both incidence and mortality from the disease.

Cancer deaths drop 33% since 1991, cases rise for common cancers

January 12, 2023 – American Cancer Society Tweet

The American Cancer Society recently published a new analysis on cancer in the United States. The researchers draw partly on data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program to estimate the rates of new cancer cases and deaths in 2023. They break down these rates by cancer type, state, and sex, showing where the fight against cancer either improved or worsened over the last several years.

The cancer mortality rate is one of the best ways to understand progress against cancer. The death rate from cancer dropped from 215.1 deaths per 100,000 persons in 1991 to 143.8 deaths per 100,000 persons in 2020. If the death rate remained at the same level from 1991, the researchers estimate over 3.8 million more people would have died between 1991 and 2020. The decline in the death rate by 33% from 1991 to 2020 is likely due to advances in cancer screening and treatment and lower rates of smoking. Other types of preventions contributed to reduced rates of new cases forcertain types of cancer. The introduction of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine in 2006 could explain the 65% drop in cervical cancer rates from 2012 through 2019 in women between 20-24 years old. The researchers note that the rate of new cervical cancer cases only dropped by 33% during the previous 7-year period from 2005-2012, before the US Food and Drug Administration approved the HPV vaccine.

However, some cancer trends are not positive. Rates of new prostate cancer cases, the most common invasive cancer for men, rose by 3% per year from 2014 through 2019. This increase means 99,000 more diagnosed cases than expected. Rates of regional and distant stage prostate cancer, where the disease has spread outside of the prostate, also increased. The researchers point to changes in prostate cancer screening guidelines as reasons for these increases. Cancer health disparities, where people of certain racial and ethnic groups experience higher rates of cancer and death, also continue. Reasons for these differences include long-term inequality in socioeconomic status, healthcare access, and risk-factor exposures felt by Black, Hispanic, and American Indian/Alaskan Native individuals.