The use of tobacco tax revenues to fund the Guam Cancer Registry: A double win for cancer control.

Cancer registries that provide reliable data on cancer incidence, mortality and burden are essential to cancer control. However, establishing sustainable local funding mechanisms to support cancer registries remains a challenge in many countries. Guam, an unincorporated Territory of the United States of America in the Western Pacific, enacted a bill that raised tobacco taxes, and earmarked a percentage of tobacco tax revenues to support its Cancer Registry.

Cancer in Guam and Hawaii: A comparison of two U.S. Island populations.

Background: Cancer disparities within and across populations provide insight into the influence of lifestyle, environment, and genetic factors on cancer risk.

Methods: Guam cancer incidence and mortality were compared to that of Hawaii using data from their respective population-based, central cancer registries.

Results: In 2009-2013, overall cancer incidence was substantially lower in Guam than in Hawaii for both sexes while overall cancer mortality was higher for Guam males.

Urolithiasis, Urinary Cancer, and Home Drinking Water Source in the United States Territory of Guam, 2006-2010.

We reviewed patient records with a first-listed diagnosis of urolithiasis-also known as urinary tract or kidney stone disease, nephrolithiasis-upon discharge from Guam's sole civilian hospital during 2006 to 2010 and urinary cancer mortality records from the Guam Cancer Registry for 1970 to 2009 to determine the source of municipal water supplied to the patients' residence. The objective was to investigate a possible relationship between the sources of municipal water supplied to Guam villages and the incidence of urolithiasis and urinary cancer. We analyzed hospital discharge diagnoses of urolithiasis or renal calculi by calculating the incidence of first-mentioned discharge for urolithiasis or renal calculi and comparing rates across demographic or geographic categories while adjusting by age, sex, and ethnicity/race.

Disparities in Infant Mortality Due to Congenital Anomalies on Guam.

In the 1970's and 1980's, there were large inter-village disparities in infant mortality due to congenital anomalies on Guam. A village-level analysis was conducted to determine if these disparities can be explained by behavioral (ie, median age of village females, village fertility ratio), structural (ie, population density, persons per household, single mother households per village, married females per village), and environmental (ie, living in a village where Agent Orange (AO) spraying was conducted) factors. Village-level data for live births and infant mortality due to congenital anomalies (1970-1989) was collected from Guam's Office of Vital Statistics.

Cancer mortality following polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination of a Guam village.

Unlabelled: Beginning more than 10 years after the release of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination in the favored fishing grounds of Merizo village, an increase in the proportional cancer mortality rate was observed among residents of the village. This increased rate continued for approximately 20 years after which it returned to near island-wide Guam levels. Although the temporal association between PCB contamination of the environment of this village and an increase in cancer mortality is intriguing, it does not necessarily demonstrate a cause and effect relationship.

Guam's influenza epidemic(s) of 2009.

Objective: To characterize syndromic and laboratory surveillance for influenza on Guam during 2009, including the relation of cases to the timing of swine flu-related stories published in a local newspaper.

Methods: Data utilized in the study included clinical diagnoses of acute respiratory infection (ARI) in the Emergency Department log of Guam's only civilian hospital (syndromic surveillance) and laboratory confirmed cases of Influenza A (rapid test) and novel 2009 H1N1 influenza virus (RT-PCR subtyping) from both civilian and military sources. In addition, the number of "swine flu" stories appearing weekly in a local paper were tallied.

Social Support for Chamorro Breast Cancer Survivors on Guam.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the types of social support used by Chamorro (indigenous) breast cancer survivors on Guam.

Methods: We assessed social support use among 25 self-reported Chamorro women with a diagnosis of breast cancer through interviews and construction of genograms and ecomaps -pictorial displays of the women's family relationships, medical history, and their social networks.

Results: The mean age of the participants was 54.

Ethnic disparities in cancer incidence among residents of Guam.

Cancer incidence data collected by the Guam Cancer Registry for the period 1998 through 2002 were analyzed by cancer site, age, and ethnicity. Ethnicity and site specific age-adjusted cancer incidence rates for Guam residents were calculated utilizing Guam 2000 census data and the U.S.

Disease surveillance in Guam: a historical perspective.

Passive, active, and syndromic disease surveillance, together with disease registries and surveys, are undertaken by the Guam Department of Public Health and Social Services to provide a rational basis for decision making by health care officials. Each of these activities serves a unique purpose in the process of detecting and confirming or disproving the presence or extent of disease on the island and evaluating the effectiveness of control measures.

Oral cancer incidence disparity among ethnic groups on Guam.

Although the prevalence of betel nut use among Chamorro residents of Guam is higher than that of other Micronesians residing on the island, the "other Micronesian" ethnic groups have a mouth cancer incidence rate more than double that of Chamorros. The reason for this apparent disparity in rates of mouth cancer incidence may be clarified by future studies focused on the frequency and method of betel nut use among these populations. Another possible explanation for this apparent disparity in cancer incidence rates could be that of migration to Guam for medical treatment.

Ethnic disparities in cancer mortality among residents of Guam.

Cancer mortality data collected by the Guam Cancer Registry for the period 1998 through 2002 were analyzed by cancer site, age, and ethnicity. Ethnicity and site specific age-adjusted cancer mortality rates for Guam were calculated utilizing Guam 2000 census data, the US 2000 standard population and compared to U.S.

Cancer in the Territory of Guam.

The purpose of this study, funded by the National Cancer Institute, was to assess cancer awareness and service needs in Guam. Guam maintains a cancer registry, and data suggest that cancer is the second-leading cause of death in Guam. A chapter of the American Cancer Society has been established on the island.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and diabetes on Guam: changing patterns of chronic disease in an island community.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) occurred on the island of Guam with unusually high incidence rates for many years but began to disappear with the island's westernization after WW II. The authors document these changes and suggest that they support a hypothesis that cultural changes could be responsible for both the virtual disappearance of this chronic degenerative neurologic disease as well as a concurrent surge in the prevalence of diabetes.

Cancer on Guam, especially among Micronesians.

The Guam Cancer Registry (GCR) collects data on cases of cancer in Guam residents whether their initial diagnosis is made on Guam or as a result of a referral to an off-island medical facility. It also collects data on cancer of non-residents diagnosed on Guam. Although including non-Guam resident cancer cases in statistical tables will have the effect of raising local cancer rates, this probably only partially compensates for the number of Guam-resident cancer cases that are diagnosed off-island and not reported to the registry.

Cholera control on Guam, 2000.

During April, 2000, the island of Pohnpei began experiencing an outbreak of cholera and during June and July of the same year four cases of cholera representing 3 separate introduction events were identified on Guam. Two of these events were associated with eating reef fish imported from Pohnpei. Following the imposition of a narrowly-focused ban on the importation of inshore seafood and processed food products from Pohnpei, no additional local or imported cases of cholera were detected on Guam.

A leptospirosis outbreak on Guam associated with an athletic event.

Following an "extreme-adventure" athletic event on the island of Guam, 21 of 105 participants reported being ill. Three of 10 participants who reporting having a fever (temp > 101EF) had laboratory confirmed leptospirosis. An analysis of risk factors reported by both ill and not-ill race participants suggested that exposure to recreational waters was responsible for these infections.

The Effects of Marriage and Being a Parent on Prenatal Physician Visits for Chamorro, Filipino, White and Other Asian and Pacific Island Women on Guam.

PURPOSE OF THE PAPER: The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of marital status, parental status, and ethnicity on the frequency of prenatal physician visitations reported by Chamorro, Filipino, White, and other Asian and Pacific Island women residing in Guam. SUMMARY OF METHODS UTILIZED: Data were extracted from birth records and analyzed using ordinary least squares multiple regression. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We found that ethnic effects remained even when age, education, and region of residence on Guam were held constant.