Cancer among American Indians - Identifying Priority Areas in Oklahoma.

Background: We describe and compare cancer incidence and mortality among American Indians (AI/ANs) and whites in nine Indian Health Service (IHS) Service Units in Oklahoma.

Methods: Using data from the Oklahoma Central Cancer Registry and the web-based OK2SHARE database, we obtained age-adjusted cancer incidence rates from 1997 to 2012 and cancer mortality rates from 1999 to 2009 for AI/ANs and whites in Oklahoma. We examined differences in primary site, percentage of late stage diagnoses, and trends over time.

Results: AI/ANs consistently had higher cancer incidence and mortality compared to whites in Oklahoma. The magnitude of disparity for cancer incidence and mortality varied by IHS Service Unit and by gender. The top three cancer sites were the same for all Service Units. The percentage of late stage diagnosis also varied by region.

Conclusions: We identify priority areas where cancer disparity challenges exist among AI/ANs in Oklahoma.