To begin to identify, measure and tackle cancer disparities, MCWCC member Kirsten Beyer, PhD, examined breast, colorectal, lung and prostate cancer incidence, late-stage incidence and mortality in the seven-county region surrounding MCWCC.

These maps were created using adaptive spatial filtering, a disease mapping method. In adaptive spatial filtering, a grid of points is placed over the study area, and for each grid point a rate is calculated, using a circular filter that expands, based on a threshold specified by the user, to obtain data from multiple locations until enough observations are gathered to calculate a stable rate. The resulting maps display disease rates as a continuous surface.

Dr. Beyer's analysis showed significant disparities in cancer incidence, late-stage incidence and mortality for lung, prostate, breast and colorectal cancer by race, ethnicity and geography in southeastern Wisconsin. Additional work from her research group evidenced that Black/African American and Hispanic/Latino women experience poorer survival than White individuals for breast cancer, and that Black/African Americans experience poorer colorectal cancer survival than Whites in southeastern Wisconsin.

Breast and Colorectal Cancer Survival Disparities in Southeastern Wisconsin
WMJ | February 2016