Return to Home Incidence > Table > Interpret

Interpretation of Incidence Rates Data

Incidence Rate Report for Massachusetts by County

All Cancer Sites (All Stages^), 2018-2022

All Races (includes Hispanic), Both Sexes, Ages <65

Sorted by Name

Explanation of Column Headers
Incidence Rate (95% Confidence Interval) - The incidence rate is based upon 100,000 people and is an annual rate (or average annual rate) based on the time period indicated. Rates are age-adjusted by 5-year age groups to the 2000 U.S. standard million population.

Recent Trends - This is an interpretation of the AAPC/APC:

AAPC/APC (95% Confidence Interval) - the change in rate over time


Other Notes


Line by Line Interpretation of the Report


Massachusetts2


US (SEER+NPCR)1


Barnstable County2


Berkshire County2


Bristol County2


Dukes County2


Essex County2


Franklin County2


Hampden County2


Hampshire County2


Middlesex County2


Nantucket County2


Norfolk County2


Plymouth County2


Suffolk County2


Worcester County2





Notes:
Created by statecancerprofiles.cancer.gov on 03/20/2026 1:17 pm.

State Cancer Registries may provide more current or more local data.

Trend
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.


† Incidence rates (cases per 100,000 population per year) are age-adjusted to the 2000 US standard population (SEER areas use 20 age groups and NPCR areas use 19 age groups). Rates are for invasive cancer only (except for bladder cancer which is invasive and in situ) or unless otherwise specified. Rates calculated using SEER*Stat. Population counts for denominators are based on Census populations as modified by NCI. The US Population Data File is used for SEER and NPCR incidence rates.

‡ Incidence data come from different sources. The Average Annual Percent Change (AAPC) is based on the APCs calculated by Joinpoint. Due to data availability issues, the time period used in the calculation of the joinpoint regression model may differ for selected counties.

Rates and trends are computed using different standards for malignancy. For more information see malignant.html.

^ All Stages refers to any stage. Due to changes in stage coding, Combined Summary Stage with Expanded Regional Codes (2004+) is used for data from Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) databases and Merged Summary Stage is used for data from National Program of Cancer Registries databases. Due to the increased complexity with staging, other staging variables maybe used if necessary.

⋔ Results presented with the CI*Rank statistics help show the usefulness of ranks. For example, ranks for relatively rare diseases or less populated areas may be essentially meaningless because of their large variability, but ranks for more common diseases in densely populated regions can be very useful. The rates used in CI*Rank are all age-adjusted to the 2000 US standard population using 19 age groups for SEER and NPCR areas. More information about methodology can be found on the CI*Rank website.

Φ Rural–urban county classifications are based on the 2023 USDA Rural–Urban Continuum Codes (except for Connecticut Counties which use 2013 codes). State-level cancer rates for rural areas are calculated using cancer cases registered exclusively in rural counties, while state-level cancer rates for urban areas are calculated using cases registered exclusively in urban counties.

1 Source: National Program of Cancer Registries and Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results SEER*Stat Database - United States Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Cancer Institute. Based on the 2024 submission.

2 Source: National Program of Cancer Registries SEER*Stat Database - United States Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (based on the 2024 submission).

Data for United States does not include Puerto Rico.