Chronic Disease Prevention
Three types of cancers account for at least half of all new cases in men and women: prostate, lung and colorectal cancer for men; breast, lung and colorectal cancer for women. Prostate cancer, is by far the most common among men as is breast cancer among women.
Tobacco use is the single most important preventable cause of lung cancer, accounting for at least 80% of all new cases in women and 90% of cases in men. A variety of interventions, from educating the public about the adverse health effects of tobacco use, to advertising restrictions and other legislative initiatives (e.g. taxation) have contributed to significant decreases in its use over the past several decades. Nevertheless, nearly one third of Canadians over the age of 15 still smoke.
For details on the prevalence of smoking in LGL click here.
Several occupational exposures are associated with increased risk of cancer, specifically asbestos, arsenic, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, chromate and chromium, silica, mustard gas manufacturing, nickel refining and uranium mining. Other factors, such as air pollution are suspected to be determinants of risk. Motor vehicle exhausts and industrial emission releases of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are also known to cause cancer. In addition, environmental tobacco smoke is a risk factor for lung cancer, as human carcinogens are present in the tobacco smoke inhaled by bystanders.
In Leeds Grenville and Lanark (LGL), in 1995, lung cancer accounted for 19% of new cancers in men and 14% of all new cancers in women. Between, 1981 and 1995 there were more than 1500 cases of lung cancer diagnosed in LGL, an average of about 100 new cases per year. Furthermore, the incidence (new cases) of lung cancer was increasing during that time in both men and women (see figure 1). Despite the fact that there were more new cases of lung cancer among males, female rates have increased at a higher rate than males over the past 15 years. Between 1981-1986 new cases among women were half that of their male counterparts. By the early 1990's this gap had narrowed considerably.
Compared to Ontario, there was a higher number of new lung cancer cases observed in LGL, between 1993-1995 for males (see figure 2) and females (see figure 3). Among both men and women, it appears that the increasing number of new cases of lung cancer is leading to increased hospitalizations. Between 1995 and 1997, hospitalizations due to lung cancer in women residing in LGL were significantly higher when compared to Ontario (see figure 4). The same trend was observed among men, hospitalization rates due to lung cancer in men were lower in Ontario than in LGL between 1995-1997 (see figure 5).
Lung cancer is the leading cause of death due to cancer in Canada, representing about 30% of the cancer deaths in males and 20% of the cancer deaths in females. Forty percent of lung cancer deaths occur among individuals under the age of 65.
In LGL, in 1996 lung cancer was a leading cause of death for both males and females. Lung cancer accounted for 9% of all female deaths, and 8% of all male deaths in 1996. During the past fifteen years, death rates due to lung cancer have been fairly constant in men. At the same time, the opposite has occurred among women (see figure 6). In fact, 1996 was the first year that the mortality rate due to lung cancer was higher in women than in men in LGL. In addition, women living in LGL appear more likely to die from lung cancer than do women in all of Ontario. Between 1994-1996, age-standardized mortality due to lung cancer among women in LGL was higher than in Ontario (see figure 7). However, for men age-standardized mortality due to lung cancer among was only slightly higher in LGL than in Ontario (not a significantly higher) (see figure 8).
For Information on Other Selected Cancers Click Below:
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