NC among worst states for lung cancer, but SC survival rate is worse, study says
North Carolina is among the worst states for lung cancer incidence, but South Carolina ranks lower in terms of survival rate, a new study found.
The American Lung Association’s new “State of Lung Cancer” report examined the “toll of lung cancer” across the country and how it varied among states between 2012-2016, and found that more Americans are surviving the disease than were 10 years ago. The survival rate is now at 21.7 percent, up from 17.2 percent.
But lung cancer is still the “leading cause of cancer deaths,” the study says, and states need to do more to protect people from the disease.
The Carolinas have higher incidence rates of lung cancer than the national average of 59.6, the study found.
Incidence rate is the number of people per 100,000 who are diagnosed with lung cancer each year, according to the American Lung Association.
North Carolina’s incidence rate is 69, the study found, ranking it among the 10 worst states and putting it in the below-average tier.
South Carolina didn’t fare much better, with an incidence rate of 65.8, placing it in 36th and in the average tier, according to the study.
However, while North Carolina’s five-year survival rate was in the line with the national average of 21.7 percent, South Carolina’s was “significantly lower,” the study found.
Five-year survival rate refers to the “percent of people still alive five years after being diagnosed with lung cancer,” according to the American Lung Association.
North Carolina’s survival rate was 21.5 percent, ranking it 20th out of the 45 states with data on survival, according to the study.
In South Carolina, the survival rate was 19.5 percent, putting it in 32nd out of 45 states, the study found.
The study found that “every state can do more to defeat lung cancer, such as increasing the rate of screening among those at high risk, addressing disparities in receipt of treatment, decreasing exposure to radon and secondhand smoke and eliminating tobacco use.”
Screening rates among those at high risk are “very low” and need to increase, the study found.
Those at a high risk are current smokers and those who have quit within the last 15 years and have a “30-pack year history or more” meaning they smoked the equivalent to a pack a day for 30 years.
In South Carolina, 4.2 percent of those at a high risk were screened for lung cancer, which is the same as the national average, the study found. In North Carolina, 6 percent were screened.
“If everyone currently eligible were screened, close to 48,000 lives could be saved,” the report says.
This story was originally published November 24, 2019 at 6:05 PM with the headline "NC among worst states for lung cancer, but SC survival rate is worse, study says."
