Cancer is a group of diseases where abnormal cells grow and spread uncontrollably in the body. DHSS and the Environmental Public Health Tracking (EPHT) Program provide data on cancer incidence in Missouri.
What is Cancer?
Cancer is the growth and spread of abnormal cells in the body. If cancer spread isn't stopped, it can cause serious illness and lead to death. Most cancer cells create a lump called a tumor, named after the body part where it started. About one in three people will get cancer in their lifetime. However, cancer death rates in the United States have been decreasing for the past 20 years.
What Causes Cancer?
Many cancers are probably caused by a mix of genes and other risk factors.
Research studies have found connections between some cancers and environmental exposures, like chemicals, environmental pollutants, and radiation. But there is still a lot we don’t know. It can be difficult to link some cancers to environmental exposure, because cancers can take years to develop or may have many causes.
Finding cancer early, through screening, is important because it's easier to treat at an early stage. Screening can also help prevent diseases like breast, cervical, and colorectal cancers.
To learn more about cancer, visit the Bureau of Cancer and Chronic Disease Control.
Cancer Data
DHSS provides data on cancer prevalence, which is the number of people diagnosed with cancer. You can search the data by age, sex, race, and ethnicity.
Missouri Information for Community Assessment (MICA) - Cancer Incidence Query
Search this query to find:
Annual numbers of cancer cases
Annual crude rates of cancer incidence, per 100,000 residents
Annual age-adjusted rates of cancer incidence, per 100,000 residents
Other Data Sources
Using the Data
Cancer data can help you:
- See if some communities or populations are at higher risk of a type of cancer
- See if a type of cancer is going up or down over time
- Direct resources for preventing and controlling cancer
- See progress towards lowering cancer risks
Additional Resources
- CDC Environmental Public Health Tracking – Cancer
- CDC - Cancer and Tobacco Use
- CDC – Cancer Prevention and Control
- CDC - National Program of Cancer Registries (NPCR)
- National Cancer Institute
- NAACCR Quick Cancer Stats Maps
- Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) - Cancer Stat Fact Sheets
- Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER)
- EPA Radiogenic Cancer Risk Models and Projections for the U.S. Population