Cancer mapping may solve puzzle of regional disease links

Date:
August 13, 2020
Source:
Queensland University of Technology
Summary:
New statistical analysis finds cancer mapping may help question
regional disease links.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
QUT researchers have used nationwide cancer mapping statistics to develop
a new mathematical model so health professionals can further question
patterns relating to the disease.


========================================================================== Epidemiologists use disease atlases to identify disease prevalence
and mortality rates and QUT researchers say data could be expanded by
including factors such as remoteness to investigate health inequalities.

QUT PhD student Farzana Jahan is the lead author of a study, published
in the Royal Society Open Science, that used a statistical approach
to reveal patterns of cancer incidence according to the "remoteness."
The study, which drew upon the Australian Cancer Atlas, considered cancers
from geographical regions including major cities, inner regional, outer regional and remote areas.

Cancers having higher incidence in remote areas were head and neck,
liver, lung, esophageal for males and females and cervical and uterine
cancers for females.

While in major cities, cancers more likely to have greater incidence
include brain, myeloma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, pancreatic, stomach,
thyroid cancer for both sexes, kidney cancer for males, leukemia, and
ovarian cancer for females.



==========================================================================
Some cancers more likely to occur in regional areas included bowel,
melanoma for both males and females, kidney cancer for females, leukemia,
and prostate cancer for males.

Ms Jahan said the research was an attempt to create a method by which
any available disease maps or summary disease measures can be further
modelled to "unmask new insights about health and medical issues"
without having to go back to the individual health records.

"Our research provides a method for further analysing information that
goes beyond the scope of disease summaries," Ms Jahan said.

Dr Susanna Cramb, a biostatistician and epidemiologist based at QUT's
Faculty of Health and who co-authored the study, said disease atlases
are helpful for showing patterns but rarely adjusted for anything beyond
age and population size.

"People might be interested in considering whether for instance the
distance to the nearest radiotherapy facility affects survival, or the proportion of workers with high sun exposure is associated with melanoma incidence," Dr Cramb said.

"Comparing socioeconomic associations with certain cancer types and with
other countries worldwide is another potential area to investigate.

"This study unlocks data from sources like the Cancer Atlas to explore
and refine research hypotheses."

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
Queensland_University_of_Technology. Note: Content may be edited for
style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Farzana Jahan, Earl W. Duncan, Susanna M. Cramb, Peter D. Baade,
Kerrie
L. Mengersen. Augmenting disease maps: a Bayesian meta-analysis
approach.

Royal Society Open Science, 2020; 7 (8): 192151 DOI:
10.1098/rsos.192151 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/08/200813103121.htm

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