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Interpretation of Rate/Trend Comparison by Cancer Data

Death Rate/Trend Comparison by Cancer, 2019-2023

Virginia Counties versus United States

Colon & Rectum

All Races, Both Sexes

Sorted by priority index

Explanation of Column Headers

State/County - The site and sex combination for this comparison.

Priority Index 1 - The priority index is based upon the direction of the trend and the rate comparison. An index of 1 is the highest priority - that trend is rising and the rate is already higher. An index of 9 is the lowest priority - the trend is falling and the rate is already lower.

Recent Trends - This is an interpretation of the AAPC:

AAPC (95% Confidence Interval) - The Average Annual Percent Change is the change in rate over time. These AAPCs are based upon APCs that were calculated by Joinpoint Regression Program


Other Notes


Line by Line Interpretation of the Report


United States


Virginia


Wythe County


Brunswick County


Buchanan County


Danville City


Fairfax City


Halifax County with South Boston City


Hopewell City


Orange County


Rockbridge County


Shenandoah County


Smyth County


Staunton City


Tazewell County


Portsmouth City


Roanoke City


Wise County


Accomack County


Alexandria City


Amherst County


Appomattox County


Augusta County


Bedford City and County


Botetourt County


Campbell County


Carroll County


Charlotte County


Charlottesville City


Colonial Heights City


Culpeper County


Fauquier County


Fluvanna County


Franklin County


Frederick County


Goochland County


Grayson County


Harrisonburg City


Henry County


King William County


Lancaster County


Lee County


Lynchburg City


Manassas City


Martinsville City


Mecklenburg County


Nelson County


Nottoway County


Page County


Patrick County


Petersburg City


Prince Edward County


Prince George County


Roanoke County


Russell County


Scott County


Warren County


Waynesboro City


Alleghany County and Clifton Forge City


Chesapeake City


Chesterfield County


Clarke County


Dinwiddie County


Gloucester County


Hampton City


Hanover County


Henrico County


Isle of Wight County


Louisa County


Montgomery County


Newport News City


Norfolk City


Pittsylvania County


Prince William County


Pulaski County


Richmond City


Rockingham County


Salem City


Spotsylvania County


Stafford County


Suffolk City


Washington County


Westmoreland County


Winchester City


York County


Albemarle County


Arlington County


Fairfax County


Loudoun County


Virginia Beach City


Buckingham County Caroline County Dickenson County Essex County Floyd County Franklin City Fredericksburg City Giles County Greensville County James City County Lunenburg County New Kent County Northumberland County Powhatan County Richmond County Southampton County Amelia County Bath County Bland County Bristol City Buena Vista City Charles City County Covington City Craig County Cumberland County Emporia City Falls Church City Galax City Greene County Highland County King George County King and Queen County Lexington City Madison County Manassas Park City Mathews County Middlesex County Northampton County Norton City Poquoson City Radford City Rappahannock County Surry County Sussex County Williamsburg City

Notes:
Created by statecancerprofiles.cancer.gov on 03/22/2026 8:36 am.

Trend2
     Rising     when 95% confidence interval of average annual percent change is above 0.
     Stable     when 95% confidence interval of average annual percent change includes 0.
     Falling     when 95% confidence interval of average annual percent change is below 0.
Rate Comparison
     Above     when 95% confident the rate is above and Rate Ratio3 > 1.10
     Similar     when unable to conclude above or below with confidence.
     Below     when 95% confident the rate is below and Rate Ratio3 < 0.90

* Data has been suppressed to ensure confidentiality and stability of rate and trend estimates.
** Data are too sparse to provide stable estimates of annual rates needed to calculate trend.
1 Priority indices were created by ordering from rates that are rising and above the comparison rate to rates that are falling and below the comparison rate.
2 Recent trend in death rates is usually an Average Annual Percent Change (AAPC) based on the APCs calculated by Joinpoint. Due to data availability issues, the time period and/or calculation method used in the calculation of the trends may differ for selected geographic areas.
3 Rate ratio is the county rate divided by the US rate. Previous versions of this table used one-year rates for states and five-year rates for counties. As of June 2018, only five-year rates are used.
Source: Death data provided by the National Vital Statistics System public use data file. Death rates calculated by the National Cancer Institute using SEER*Stat. Death rates are age-adjusted to the 2000 US standard population (20 age groups: <1, 1-4, 5-9, ... , 80-84, 85-89, 90+). The Healthy People 2030 goals are based on rates adjusted using different methods but the differences should be minimal. Population counts for denominators are based on Census populations as modified by NCI. The US Population Data File is used with mortality data.
Note: When the population size for a denominator is small, the rates may be unstable. A rate is unstable when a small change in the numerator (e.g., only one or two additional cases) has a dramatic effect on the calculated rate. Suppression is used to avoid misinterpretation when rates are unstable.

State Cancer Registries may provide more current or more local data. Data presented on the State Cancer Profiles Web Site may differ from statistics reported by the State Cancer Registries (for more information).

Data for the following has been suppressed to ensure confidentiality and stability of rate and trend estimates:
Amelia County, Bath County, Bland County, Bristol City, Buena Vista City, Charles City County, Covington City, Craig County, Cumberland County, Emporia City, Falls Church City, Galax City, Greene County, Highland County, King George County, King and Queen County, Lexington City, Madison County, Manassas Park City, Mathews County, Middlesex County, Northampton County, Norton City, Poquoson City, Radford City, Rappahannock County, Surry County, Sussex County, Williamsburg City

Trend for the following could not be reliably determined due to small number of deaths per year:
Buckingham County, Caroline County, Dickenson County, Essex County, Floyd County, Franklin City, Fredericksburg City, Giles County, Greensville County, James City County, Lunenburg County, New Kent County, Northumberland County, Powhatan County, Richmond County, Southampton County

Interpret Rankings provides insight into interpreting cancer statistics. When the population size for a denominator is small, the rates may be unstable. A rate is unstable when a small change in the numerator (e.g., only one or two additional cases) has a dramatic effect on the calculated rate.

Data for United States do not include Puerto Rico.