Return to Home Mortality > Table > Interpret

Interpretation of Rate/Trend Comparison by Cancer Data

Death Rate/Trend Comparison by Cancer, 2016-2020

Virginia Counties versus United States

Breast

All Races, Female

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


Colonial Heights City


Halifax County with South Boston City


Hopewell City


Petersburg City


Portsmouth City


Shenandoah County


Spotsylvania County


Chesapeake City


Newport News City


Norfolk City


Richmond City


Suffolk City


Botetourt County


Bristol City


Buchanan County


Campbell County


Culpeper County


Fairfax City


Hanover County


Henry County


Lee County


Martinsville City


Pulaski County


Roanoke County


Rockingham County


Russell County


Salem City


Scott County


Tazewell County


Wise County


Wythe County


Alexandria City


Accomack County


Augusta County


Bedford City and County


Charlottesville City


Chesterfield County


Danville City


Fauquier County


Fluvanna County


Franklin County


Frederick County


Goochland County


Hampton City


Harrisonburg City


Henrico County


Isle of Wight County


Loudoun County


Lynchburg City


Manassas City


Mecklenburg County


Montgomery County


Orange County


Pittsylvania County


Prince William County


Roanoke City


Stafford County


Virginia Beach City


Warren County


Washington County


York County


Albemarle County


Amherst County


Arlington County


Fairfax County


Smyth County


Brunswick County Caroline County Carroll County Dinwiddie County Floyd County Fredericksburg City Giles County Gloucester County James City County Louisa County Lunenburg County Nottoway County Page County Powhatan County Prince George County Staunton City Waynesboro City Winchester City Alleghany County and Clifton Forge City Amelia County Appomattox County Bath County Bland County Buckingham County Buena Vista City Charles City County Charlotte County Clarke County Covington City Craig County Cumberland County Dickenson County Emporia City Essex County Falls Church City Franklin City Galax City Grayson County Greene County Greensville County Highland County King George County King William County King and Queen County Lancaster County Lexington City Madison County Manassas Park City Mathews County Middlesex County Nelson County New Kent County Northampton County Northumberland County Norton City Patrick County Poquoson City Prince Edward County Radford City Rappahannock County Richmond County Rockbridge County Southampton County Surry County Sussex County Westmoreland County Williamsburg City

Notes:
Created by statecancerprofiles.cancer.gov on 04/19/2024 10:54 pm.

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 Version 4.8.0.0. 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 (19 age groups: <1, 1-4, 5-9, ... , 80-84, 85+). The Healthy People 2020 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:
Alleghany County and Clifton Forge City, Amelia County, Appomattox County, Bath County, Bland County, Buckingham County, Buena Vista City, Charles City County, Charlotte County, Clarke County, Covington City, Craig County, Cumberland County, Dickenson County, Emporia City, Essex County, Falls Church City, Franklin City, Galax City, Grayson County, Greene County, Greensville County, Highland County, King George County, King William County, King and Queen County, Lancaster County, Lexington City, Madison County, Manassas Park City, Mathews County, Middlesex County, Nelson County, New Kent County, Northampton County, Northumberland County, Norton City, Patrick County, Poquoson City, Prince Edward County, Radford City, Rappahannock County, Richmond County, Rockbridge County, Southampton County, Surry County, Sussex County, Westmoreland County, Williamsburg City

Trend for the following could not be reliably determined due to small number of deaths per year:
Brunswick County, Caroline County, Carroll County, Dinwiddie County, Floyd County, Fredericksburg City, Giles County, Gloucester County, James City County, Louisa County, Lunenburg County, Nottoway County, Page County, Powhatan County, Prince George County, Staunton City, Waynesboro City, Winchester City


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 does not include Puerto Rico.