Cancer Management and Research (May 2019)

Cancer prevalence among the rural poverty-stricken population in Northeast China

  • Liu B,
  • Lao X,
  • Feng Y,
  • Liu J,
  • Jiao M,
  • Zhao M,
  • Wang J,
  • Zhang X,
  • Liu J,
  • Qi X,
  • Liu H,
  • Chen R,
  • Wu Q,
  • Hao Y

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 11
pp. 5101 – 5112

Abstract

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Baohua Liu,1,2,* Xinxin Lao,3,* Yang Feng,4,* Jiazhuo Liu,5 Mingli Jiao,1 Miaomiao Zhao,1 Jiahui Wang,1 Xin Zhang,1 Jingjing Liu,1 Xinye Qi,1 Huan Liu,1 Ruohui Chen,1 Qunhong Wu,1 Yanhua Hao11Department of Social Medicine, School of Public Health, Harbin Medical University, Heilongjiang, People’s Republic of China; 2Harbin Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Harbin, Heilongjiang, People’s Republic of China; 3Educational Administration Section, General Hospital of Heilongjiang Farms & Land Reclamation Administration, Harbin, Heilongjiang, People’s Republic of China; 4Network Communication Section, Heilongjiang Third Hospital, Beian, Heilongjiang, People’s Republic of China; 5Second Project Section, Project Fund Supervision Service Center of Heilongjiang Health and Family Planning Commission, Harbin, Heilongjiang, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this work Purpose: The burden of cancer impacts many of the world’s top concerns, but little information is published about the characteristics of cancer prevalence in the poor population.Materials and methods: Data on cancer prevalence were obtained from the Health Poverty Alleviation Information System of Heilongjiang province. Prevalence was defined as all living cancer cases on October 1, 2018. Geographical area, cancer site, sex, age, educational level, and time since diagnosis were investigated.Results: There were 10,529 cancer cases among 624,869 poor rural people in Heilongjiang up to October 1, 2018, and 77% of them did not have labor ability. Females accounted for 53.4%. The top five common cancers were lung, breast, colorectal, stomach, and liver cancer. There were distinct regional, sex, and age distribution differences in cancers. The prevalence rate for overall cancers was 1,685.0 per 100,000 people, which was much higher than that of the national level. Cancer prevalence peaked at an earlier age group (65–69 year). The 5-year cancer prevalence was 80.1% of the total cases.Conclusion: Cancer imposes significant health and financial burdens in the rural poor. This study presents total and partial prevalence for the first time using actual dates from a large poor population in China, providing valuable information for tailored cancer prevention and control, quantifying the cancer burden and identifying priorities for poverty alleviation plans.Keywords: cancer burden, prevalence, rural, poverty-stricken population

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