The data was analyzed from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Program of Cancer Registries, the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results and linkage to the Indian Health Services records.

The findings, Cancer Incidence in American Indian/Alaska Native Populations, were published online in a supplement of the journal Cancer ahead of print in the Sept. 1, issue.

The supplement of 16 studies also focuses on disparities in health risk behaviors and cancer test use, explains how incidence rates vary widely by region, and methods for improving cancer surveillance among the AI/AN populations.

The AI/AN living in Alaska and in the Northern Plains regions have significantly higher incidence rates of colorectal cancer compared to non-Hispanic white persons.

The highest rates of breast cancer were in Alaska and the Northern and Southern Plains and were similar or slightly lower than in non-Hispanic white women; the lowest rates were in the Southwest and were less than half the rate of non-Hispanic white women.