Dr. Osarogiagbon on Geographic Disparities in Lung Cancer

Raymond U. Osarogiagbon, MD, FACP, chief scientist, Baptist Memorial Health Care, director, Multidisciplinary Thoracic Oncology Program, Thoracic Oncology Research Group, Baptist Cancer Center, discusses geographic disparities in lung cancer.

Lung cancer is a public health challenge worldwide, but the patterns of incidence and mortality are not geographically uniform, Osarogiagbon says. For example, the incidence and mortality rates associated with lung cancer vary from country to country, Osarogiagbon adds. For example, in the United States, the 5 states with the highest rates of lung cancer and lung-cancer related mortality include Kentucky, Mississippi, Arkansas, West Virginia, and Tennessee, Osarogiagbon explains. Moreover, this correlates with the same states that have high rates of tobacco use, Osarogiagbon continues. It is known that smoking remains the most significant risk factor for lung cancer, which makes it important to note the cultural acceptances of tobacco use, Osarogiagbon explains.

The tobacco belt of the United States is also the ​"cancer mortality belt​" of the United States, which identifies one type of geographic disparity, Osarogiagbon concludes.