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Highlights

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• Between 1990 and 1994, an average of 12,000 Indiana residents died of cancer each year.
• Lung cancer was the leading cause of cancer deaths for both men and women
• The second leading cause of cancer deaths was prostate cancer for men and breast cancer for women.
• Cancer of the colon and rectum was the third leading cause of cancer death for both men and women.
• The four leading cancer sites (lung, colon and rectum, breast and prostate) accounted for 55% of all cancer deaths.
• Since the 1978-1982 period, Indiana has had higher cancer death rates than the US for all sites combined, female lung cancer, and male colorectal cancer. Female colorectal cancer has been higher than the US rate at least since 1963-1967 and male lung cancer has been higher since 1968-1972.
• Indiana rates for female breast cancer have been essentially equal to those for the US for the entire period from 1963-1967 through 1990-1994. Prostate cancer rates have been lower than the rates for the US since the period 1988-1992.
• For all sites combined and for cancer of the lung and the colon or rectum, age-specific cancer death rates were higher for men than women for most age groups. The rates for men were significantly higher than those for women after ages 55-64 for all sites, after ages 35-44 for lung cancer, and for ages 45-54 for cancer of the colon and rectum.
• Cancer death rates were significantly higher for Indiana's Black population than for its White population after age 25 for all cancer sites combined. After age 35 for lung cancer, after age 55 for colon and rectum cancer, and after age 55 for prostate cancer.
• Age-specific death rates for female breast cancer were higher for Black women than for White women for all age groups except ages 75-84. For ages 25-34 and 35-44, the differences were statistically significant.
• Marion County had significantly higher rates of death from lung and bronchial cancer, and esophageal cancer than the state as a whole.
• Lake County had significantly higher rates of death from colon and rectum cancer, and stomach cancer than the state as a whole.
• Adams, Dubois, Monroe, St. Joseph, and Elkhart Counties had significantly lower rates of death from cancer of the lung and bronchus than the state as a whole. Clark County had a significantly higher rate.
• Vigo County had a significantly lower rate of death from pancreatic cancer than the state as a whole.
• Males have cancer death rates 58% higher than females (229.0 vs. 144.5). Male cancer death rates were significantly higher than female cancer death rates for each of the eleven major cancer sites.
• Males in Marion County had significantly higher mortality rates from cancer of the prostate, lung and bronchus, and cancer of the esophagus than did males in Indiana as a whole. Females in Marion County had significantly higher mortality rates from cancer of the lung and bronchus than did females in Indiana as a whole.
• Both males and females in Lake County had significantly higher mortality rates from stomach cancer than did males and females in Indiana as a whole. Only women had a significantly higher rate of cancer of the colon and rectum.
• Indiana's Black population had a cancer death rate 41% higher than Indiana's White population (246.2 vs. 174.2). Rates for the Black population were significantly higher than those for the White population for cancer of the lung and bronchus, colon and rectum, pancreas, esophagus and stomach, as well as for multiple myeloma. Black rates were significantly lower for cancer of the brain and for lymphomas.
• Indiana's Black male population had a significantly higher prostate cancer death rate than did Indiana's White male population (55.6 vs. 23.7).
• The breast cancer death rate was significantly higher for Indiana's Black female population than for Indiana's White female population (Black, 31.2 vs. White, 25.9).
• The cervical cancer death rate was significantly higher for Indiana's Black female population than for Indiana's White female population (Black, 5.8 vs. White, 2.9).
• Only five counties, Allen, Lake, Marion, St. Joseph and Vanderburgh, had large enough Black populations to examine cancer death rates by site, sex and race. The rates for the Black populations in these counties were not significantly different from the rates for the Black population in Indiana as a whole.D

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