Preface

This document is the third edition of the Indiana State Cancer Registry’s incidence report. It provides valuable information to address issues related to cancer, one of the Indiana State Department of Health public health priorities.

The 1996 data in this report serve as a baseline for future reference in measuring progress toward reaching the Year 2000 goal of reducing cancer incidence in Indiana. Because of the limitations described within the report, and because this report represents only one year of data, it should not be regarded as a definitive description of cancer incidence in Indiana.

The Indiana State Cancer Registry was established for the purpose of recording cases of malignant disease and compiling necessary and appropriate information in order to conduct epidemiological studies of cancer and apply appropriate preventive and control measures.

The primary measure associated with assessing the impact of cancer in the general population is the number of new cases per year per 100,000 persons (incidence rate). All incidence rates in this report are age-adjusted to the 1970 United States standard million. Age-adjustment minimizes the effect of a difference in age distributions when comparing rates.

By convention, incidence rates of invasive cancers in Tables I, III, V, and VI exclude carcinomas in situ (with the exception of bladder cancer in situ) and basal and squamous cell carcinomas of the skin, so that state and national rates can be compared. Tables II and IV include basal and squamous cell carcinomas of the skin, as well as all invasive and in situ cancers, since these tables are concerned with cancers diagnosed by stage. Refer to the Technical Notes in Appendix B for further details.

By using this information to target at-risk populations, the Indiana State Department of Health will continue to fulfill its mission of promoting health and wellness among people in Indiana through planning, prevention, service, and education.

Table of Contents