Thyroid Cancer Data

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Thyroid cancer is abnormal cell growth that starts in the thyroid gland. The thyroid gland is under the Adam's apple in the front part of the neck. It has been well established that exposure to external ionizing radiation increases risk for thyroid cancer. Ionizing radiation exposures can be from natural or man-made sources. Radon is a natural gas coming from rocks and soil, and is sometimes found at high levels in home basements. Most man-made exposures to ionizing radiation come from X-rays or medical devices. No other environmental chemicals or physical agents have been associated with this cancer. Read more about thyroid cancer.

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Annual Thyroid Cancer Incidence Data

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Annual cancer incidence measures can be used to identify trends and patterns of cancer incidence over time. Annual measures are only available at the state level. County level cancer incidence measures are available as five year aggregate data.

Measure Description:

  • The Cancer Count is the number of newly diagnosed malignant cancers.
  • The Crude Rate (Per 100K) is the rate of newly diagnosed malignant cancers per 100,000 population
  • The Age Adjusted Rate (Per 100K) is the age adjusted rate of newly diagnosed malignant cancers per 100,000 population. Age adjustment to the 2000 Standard US Census is done to allow direct comparison of rates in counties and state with different population age distributions.
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5-Year Thyroid Cancer Incidence Data

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Five Year incidence measures can be used to identify trends and patterns of cancer incidence over time and in different geographic areas. Five-year aggregate measures are available at the state and county level. Five-year aggregate data is used to reduce the presence of suppressed values due to small numbers; allowing display of data, and stabilization of rates to better evaluate trends. Even with this aggregation some values still need to be suppressed.

Measure Description:

  • The Average Annual Count is the average number of newly diagnosed malignant cancers per year in the five-year period.
  • The Crude Rate (Per 100K) is the rate of newly diagnosed malignant cancers per 100,000 Population during the five-year period.
  • The Age Adjusted Rate (Per 100K) is the age adjusted rate of newly diagnosed malignant cancers per 100,000 Population during the five-year period. Age adjustment to the 2000 Standard US Census is done to allow direct comparison of rates in counties and state with different population age distributions.
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