Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2012 Jun;177(6):693-701.
doi: 10.7205/milmed-d-11-00434.

Cancer incidence among patients of the U.S. Veterans Affairs Health Care System

Leah L Zullig  1 , George L Jackson, Raye Anne Dorn, Dawn T Provenzale, Rebecca McNeil, Catherine M Thomas, Michael J Kelley
Affiliations

Cancer incidence among patients of the U.S. Veterans Affairs Health Care System

Leah L Zullig et al. Mil Med. 2012 Jun.

Abstract

Objective: Approximately 40,000 incident cancer cases are reported in the Veterans Affairs Central Cancer Registry (VACCR) annually (approximately 3% of U.S. cancer cases). Our objective was to provide the first comprehensive description of cancer incidence as reported in VACCR.

Methods: Data were obtained from VACCR for incident cancers diagnosed in VA. Analyses focused on 2007 data. Cancer incidence among VA patients was compared to the general U.S. cancer population.

Results: In 2007, 97.5% of VA cancers were diagnosed among men. Approximately 78.5% of newly diagnosed patients were White, 19.0% Black, and 2.5% were another race. Median age at diagnosis was 66 years. The geographic distribution of cancer patients in VA aligns that of VA users. The most commonly diagnosed cancers were similar between VA and the U.S. male cancer population. The five most frequently diagnosed cancers among VA cancer patients were: prostate (31.8%), lung/bronchus (18.8%), colon/rectum (8.6%), urinary bladder (3.6%), and skin melanomas (3.4%). VA patients were diagnosed at an earlier stage of disease for the three most commonly diagnosed cancers--lung/bronchus, colon/rectum, and prostate--compared to the U.S. male cancer population.

Conclusions: Registry data indicate that incident cancers in VA in 2007 approximately mirrored those observed among U.S. men.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of the Assistant Deputy Under Secretary for Health for Policy and Planning [Intranet], Washington, D.C. Selected VHA Health Statistics FY 2006 – 2007. [updated 2011 Oct 5; cited 2011 Nov 23] Available from: http://vaww4.va.gov/VHAOPP/index.asp.
    1. Westat [Internet]. Rockville. National Survey of Veterans, Active Duty Service Members, Demobilized National Guard and Reserve Members, Family Members, and Surviving Spouses. [updated 2010 Oct 18; cited 2011 Nov 23] Available from: http://www.va.gov/vetdata/docs/SurveysAndStudies/NVSSurveyFinalWeightedR....
    1. Jemal A, Siegel R, Ward E, Hao Y, Xu J, Thun MJ. Cancer statistics, 2009. CA: a cancer journal for clinicians. 2009 Jul-Aug;59(4):225–249. - PubMed
    1. Jemal A, Siegel R, Ward E, Murray T, Xu J, Thun MJ. Cancer statistics, 2007. CA: a cancer journal for clinicians. 2007 Jan-Feb;57(1):43–66. - PubMed
    1. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs [Internet] Washington, D.C: VA Health Care Eligibility & Enrollment Ratings and Evaluations; Service Connection 3.303-1 [updated 2009 Sept 15; cited 2011 Nov 12]. Available from: http://www.va.gov/healtheligibility/library/pubs/healthcareoverview/

Publication types