87
Colon and Rectum
Summary
Utah
1996-2000
Average annual age-adjusted incidence rates*
16.6
17.0
Rank among cancer incidence rates
6
5
Average annual number of new cases
139
24,490
Percent of all new cancer cases
4.8 %
3.9 %
Lifetime risk of this cancer (00-79 years)
1 in 61
1 in 59
Average annual age-adjusted mortality rates*
8.9
8.9
Rank among cancer mortality rates
4
5
Average annual number of deaths
72
13,421
Percent of all cancer deaths
6.7 %
5.2 %
* Rates per 100,000 and standardized to the 2000 U.S. population
US
1996-99
Ovary
Cancer in Utah
While ovarian tumors are not the most common of the gynecologic cancers (cervical,
endometrial, fallopian, GTD, ovarian, uterine, vaginal, vulvar), in the United States they are
responsible for the most deaths among this group of neoplasms.
As in the rest of the country, average annual age-adjusted incidence rates for cancer
of the ovary remained relatively constant from 1981 to 2000 in Utah. Age-specific rates
begin to increase among young women and reach their peak between the ages of 65-80
years.
Ovarian tumors often spread throughout the abdomen before they are detected. As
a result, over sixty percent of ovarian tumors are diagnosed at regional and distant stages
of disease. Over one-half of ovarian cancer patients die within the first five years following
diagnosis.
Hormonal factors seem to play an important role in the development of ovarian
tumors. Women who have had children are at lower risk than nulliparous women, and the
risk of ovarian cancer further decreases as the number of prior pregnancies increases. Use
of combined oral contraceptives has been shown to protect against ovarian cancer.
Radiation has been associated with a slight increase in risk for the disease. Women
exposed to the atomic bomb at Hiroshima and women who were treated with radiation for
pelvic disease were found to have slightly increased risks of ovarian cancer. Talc and
asbestos have been associat