While cancer death and incidence rates had decreased from 1996 to 2005, racial disparities were still glaringly present among the numbers featured in the South Carolina Central Cancer Registry's first 10-year report on state cancer trends.

Housed within the state Department of Health and Environmental Control's Office of Public Health Statistics and Information Services, the SCCCR has built infrastructure and collaborated with acute-care hospitals to begin population-based reporting of cancer incidence, mortality and survival for the state.

"This report is a milestone for the state," DHEC Commissioner Earl Hunter said. "Cancer is one of the leading causes of deaths and illness. It is critical not only to be able to track the number of deaths, but to have information on the number of people who have been diagnosed with the disease.

"The cancer survival data provides another avenue to measure the burden of cancer on our residents."

Esophageal, lung, bladder, prostate and colorectal were among the 15 cancer types included in the report.

According to the report, cancer deaths decreased by 18.2 percent from 1996 through 2005 for all races and genders. As evidenced in the tri-county region of Orangeburg, Bamberg and Calhoun counties, however, disparities among death rates abounded between blacks and whites.

"Decreasing cancer death rates is a sign of progress in the fight against cancer, but there is still much to be done. The report shows that there are still cancer disparities, as indicated by the differences in cancer death rates among races," Hunter said.

During the 10-year period, there were 209 deaths per 100,000 people among all races in the state for all cancers. The death rate among whites at nearly 197 per 100,000 persons was significantly lower than the death rate among blacks at 250.

Orangeburg, Bamberg and Calhoun counties each had rates of more than 200 deaths per 100,000 population during the 10-year period. Blacks had higher death rates than whites in each county. The biggest difference was seen in Orangeburg, with whites having a death rate from all cancers at 187 per 100,000 vs. 251 for blacks.

The five leading types of cancer were prostate, lung, breast, colorectal and bladder. The five leading causes of cancer deaths were lung, colorectal, breast, prostate and pancreatic.

During the 10-year period, blacks saw a lower death rate as a result of lung cancer than whites in Orangeburg and Bamberg counties. While there were 54 deaths per 100,000 people among whites, for example, there were only 48 deaths among blacks in Orangeburg County. Calhoun County did not display the same statistics, with 65 lung cancer deaths among blacks per 100,000 vs. only 45 for whites.

There were also major disparities in death rates among Orangeburg County residents from colorectal, breast and prostate cancers. With prostate cancer, for example, there were 76 deaths per 100,000 among blacks vs. 25 deaths among whites. Breast cancer death rates reflected a similar trend, with 36 deaths among blacks per 100,000 vs. 22 deaths among whites.

Also noted in the report was that the total incidence for all cancers decreased by 3.2 percent over the 10-year period. The most commonly diagnosed cancer for males was prostate cancer, with a 10-year rate of 180 per 100,000 people. Breast cancer was the most commonly diagnosed cancer for females, with a 10-year rate of 124. The two most commonly diagnosed cancers for both race groups were lung/bronchial cancer and colorectal cancer. Whites had a 10-year incidence rate of 76 per 100,000, 14 percent higher than of blacks at 67. Blacks, however, had a 16 percent greater incidence rate of colorectal cancer than whites.

Over the 10-year period, Orangeburg and Bamberg counties both saw lower incidence rates of lung cancer among blacks than whites, with blacks higher in their incidence rate in Calhoun County than whites. The same scenario occurred in breast cancer incidence rates among the three counties.

The biggest differences were shown among prostate cancer incidence rates in the tri-county region between blacks and whites. In Bamberg, for example, there were 310 incidences per 100,000 people among blacks vs. only 188 among whites.

DHEC Commissioner Earl Hunter said the survival data provides a glimmer of hope in the fight against of cancer. County-wide survival rate statistics were not included in the report.

Survival rates observed between 2001 and 2005 for all cancers combined in the state were 51.4 percent, meaning a little over half of cancer patients survive for five years. The median survival time, or the time at which half the cancer patients are still living, was approximately 5.5 years. Survival was highest for white females (55.8 percent), followed by white males (50.3 percent), black females (47.1 percent) and black males (44.6 percent).

Cancers with the poorest survival for all race and gender groups, in order from the poorest to the best, were liver, pancreatic, lung, brain and esophageal.

"The survival data will help our public health efforts by providing insights about where our next steps need to be for the best results as we work to fight cancer," Hunter said.

For more information and data from the SCCCR report, call the Cancer Registry toll-free at 1-800-817-4774 or visit the DHEC Web site at scdhec.gov/co/phsis/biostatistics/SCCCR/scccrmain.htm.

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