UNLV Report: Nevadans More Likely to Die of Cance - 8 News NOW

UNLV Report: Nevadans More Likely to Die of Cancer

LAS VEGAS -- Nevadans are more likely than residents of neighboring states to get cancer and die from it, according to a report released by UNLV and the Nevada State Health Division.

The report titled Cancer in Nevada looked at all cancer cases in the state from 2006 to 2008.

Among the findings:

• White women in Nevada have the highest mortality rates for lung, colorectal and liver cancers in the country.
  
• Whites in Nevada also have a higher incidence, compared to other racial groups, for breast, bladder and colorectal cancers.
  
• Blacks showed high rates for prostate cancers.
• Hispanics have high rates for cancers of the stomach, uterus and cervix.
  
• Asians had the highest rate of liver cancer.
• Blacks and Hispanics are usually diagnosed at a later stage of the disease.
  

The study also concluded that breast cancer survival depended on whether a person lived in southern or northern Nevada. Southern Nevada had a higher incidence of cancer, more cancer deaths, lower screening rates and lower survival rates than northern Nevada.

Read the full report: Cancer in Nevada

"If you are resident of the same state you would expect the same level of care anywhere in that state, but this is not happening in Nevada," said UNLV researcher and epidemiologist Dr. Paulo Pinheiro. "This discrepancy does not exist in other states around the nation and points to major differences in access to screening as well as quality healthcare between the two regions."

He added, lack of screening and less specialized expertise forces nearly 10 percent of patients to seek treatment outside the state of Nevada.