Why Does Utah Have the Lowest Cancer Rate?
- New research looking at cancer rates across the US found that Utah had the lowest rate of any state.
- The low cancer rate could have to do with the large Mormon population in the state, as their beliefs prevent them from smoking or drinking alcohol.
- States that have high rates of smoking and obesity tended to be the states that had very high cancer rates.
So, why the major discrepancy between the two states? Researchers also looked at the 2021 County Health Rankings & Roadmaps program, produced by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, for smoking and obesity rates across the country.
Read MoreAlcohol & Cancer Risk
Consuming excessive alcohol has been linked to an increased risk for several different types of cancer, which may be help explain why states where a large swath of the population abstains from drinking have lower cancer rates. Even moderate drinking has been linked to cancer in some research.
A recent study, published in oncology journal The Lancet, estimates that 4.1% of new cancer cases globally in 2020 were due to alcohol intake. Around 46% of those cases involved heavy drinkers. However, even those who consumed less than one drink per day on average saw an increased risk, the study found.
“Our findings highlight the need for effective policy and interventions to increase awareness of cancer risks associated with alcohol use and decrease overall alcohol consumption to prevent the burden of alcohol-attributable cancers,” the researchers wrote.
Dr. Elizabeth Comen explains how alcohol is linked to breast cancer risk
Obesity’s Link to Cancer
Another culprit when it comes to cancer risk is carrying a few extra pounds. Obesity increases an individual's risk of developing a range of dangerous health conditions, including several types of cancer (breast cancer, prostate cancer, and pancreatic cancer, among others). In addition to increasing the likelihood of developing certain cancers, obesity is associated with worse treatment outcomes. It’s no surprise that states that have higher obesity rates, also tend to have higher cancer rates.
Speaking about prostate cancer in particular in a previous interview with SurvivorNet, Dr. Stephen Freedland of Cedars Sinai Medical Center said, "Some of the best data we have is that obesity increases the risk of not just getting prostate cancer, but actually dying from prostate cancer. Obese men are 35 percent more likely to die from prostate cancer."
Conditions caused or exasperated by obesity like diabetes and heart disease can lead to additional complications from cancer treatment, and they can sometimes prevent patients from receiving the recommended first-line therapies.
Dr. Stephen Freedland explains how prostate cancer is linked to obesity
Smoking & Cancer Risk
We all know that smoking cigarettes increases cancer risk. This message has been pounded into our heads for decades. But what you may not know is that there is special screening available to people who currently smoke or smoked in the past. Lung cancer is notoriously hard to identify in its early stages. It often doesn’t present symptoms until it has spread to other parts of the body and by then, it’s much more difficult to treat.
People who are at-risk should be taking advantage of screening, however, only about 10% of people who are eligible actually get screening.
In March 2021, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPST) introduced new guidelines which dropped the age of eligibility for lung cancer screening from 55-years-old to 50-years-old as well as the number of "pack years" a person has.
"Pack years" refers to the number of years a person smoked an average of one pack of cigarettes a day. For example, if someone smoked one pack of cigarettes per day for 25 years their "pack history" would be 25 years; if someone smoked two packs of cigarettes a day for 25 years their "pack history" would be 50 years. These guidelines allow more people to get screened, but unfortunately not many people are taking advantage of these extremely important tests.
Dr. Brendon Stiles explains how lung cancer screening works
"Unfortunately, lung cancer screening is currently only utilized at about 10% at most of the eligible patients," Dr. Brendon Stiles, a thoracic surgeon at Montefiore Medical Center, previously told SurvivorNet. "So we've got to do better about getting that message out that lung cancer screening is effective, it's safe and it can be done responsibly."
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