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Health Indicator Report of Deaths due to Cancer

For decades, cancer was the second leading cause of death in the U.S. and New Jersey. In 2020, it was New Jersey's third leading cause of death after heart disease and COVID-19.

Notes

This is Healthy New Jersey 2020 (HNJ2020) Objective CA-1.

Data Sources

  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. Underlying Cause of Death File. CDC WONDER On-line Database accessed at [https://wonder.cdc.gov/Deaths-by-Underlying-Cause.html]
  • Death Certificate Database, Office of Vital Statistics and Registry, New Jersey Department of Health
  • Population Estimates, [https://www.nj.gov/labor/lpa/dmograph/est/est_index.html State Data Center], New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development

Definition

Deaths with malignant neoplasm (cancer) as the underlying cause of death. ICD-10 codes: C00-C97

Numerator

Number of deaths due to all types of cancer

Denominator

Total number of persons in the population

Healthy People Objective: Reduce the overall cancer death rate

U.S. Target: 161.4 deaths per 100,000 population (age-adjusted)
State Target: 135.5 deaths per 100,000 population (age-adjusted)

Other Objectives

'''Revised Healthy New Jersey 2020 Objective CA-1''': Reduce the age-adjusted death rate due to all cancers per 100,000 standard population to 135.5 for the total population, 143.4 among Whites, 161.8 among Blacks, 91.9 among Hispanics, and 65.3 among Asians. '''Original Healthy New Jersey 2020 Objective CA-1''': Reduce the age-adjusted death rate due to all cancers per 100,000 standard population to 161.5 for the total population, 170.2 among Whites, 186.8 among Blacks, 91.9 among Hispanics, and 65.3 among Asians. There are several Healthy New Jersey objectives related to specific types of cancer. They are addressed in separate indicator profiles.

How Are We Doing?

The age-adjusted death rate due to cancer has been slowly declining for many years. In New Jersey, more than 15,000 deaths each year are due to cancer. In the total population and among each racial/ethnic group, males have higher death rates than females. The age-adjusted death rate due to cancer is highest among Blacks and Whites in New Jersey. County rates per 100,000 population (age-adjusted) range from a low of 112 in Hudson to a high of 180 in Cumberland. The revised Healthy New Jersey 2020 targets were achieved by all racial/ethnic groups except Asians.

How Do We Compare With the U.S.?

Since 2012, the New Jersey age-adjusted death rate due to cancer has been statistically significantly below that of the U.S. as a whole.

What Is Being Done?

The [https://www.nj.gov/health/ces/public/resources/occp.shtml Office of Cancer Control and Prevention] (OCCP) coordinates comprehensive cancer control efforts in New Jersey and participates in the national efforts of the CDC to establish state-based comprehensive cancer control plans, conduct prevention of cancer risk factors, enhance early detection of preventable cancers, and facilitate survivorship through the activities of its Regional Chronic Disease Coalitions. The [https://nj.gov/health/ces/public/resources/njceed.shtml New Jersey Cancer Education and Early Detection] (NJCEED) Program provides comprehensive outreach, education and screening services for breast, cervical, colorectal and prostate cancers to eligible residents.

Evidence-based Practices

The risk of getting many common kinds of cancer can be lowered by making healthy choices like keeping a healthy weight, avoiding tobacco, and limiting alcohol consumption. Getting screening tests regularly may find breast, cervical, and colorectal cancers early, when treatment is likely to work best. Vaccines can help prevent several kinds of cancer. For example, the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine helps prevent most cervical cancers and several other kinds of cancer and the hepatitis B vaccine can help lower liver cancer risk.[https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/dcpc/prevention/ ^1^]

Available Services

The New Jersey Department of Health has many cancer-related programs and services [https://nj.gov/health/ces/public/ for the public].

Health Program Information

NJDOH cancer programs and information: [https://nj.gov/health/ces/]
Page Content Updated On 05/02/2022, Published on 05/02/2022
The information provided above is from the Department of Health's NJSHAD web site (https://nj.gov/health/shad). The information published on this website may be reproduced without permission. Please use the following citation: " Retrieved Mon, 18 March 2024 22:52:45 from Department of Health, New Jersey State Health Assessment Data Web site: https://nj.gov/health/shad ".

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