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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

Prostate

All Races, Male

Sorted by count

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


Fairfax County


Virginia Beach City


Henrico County


Prince William County


Chesterfield County


Norfolk City


Richmond City


Chesapeake City


Loudoun County


Newport News City


Portsmouth City


Arlington County


Hampton City


Roanoke City


Albemarle County


James City County


Stafford County


Suffolk City


Bedford City and County


Lynchburg City


Augusta County


Spotsylvania County


Frederick County


Hanover County


Accomack County


Rockingham County


Roanoke County


Alexandria City


Danville City


York County


Campbell County


Franklin County


Halifax County with South Boston City


Montgomery County


Henry County


Shenandoah County


Carroll County


Fauquier County


Mecklenburg County


Washington County


Gloucester County


Warren County


Orange County


Petersburg City


Wise County


Culpeper County


Louisa County


Nelson County


Russell County


Winchester City


Wythe County


Pulaski County


Salem City


Smyth County


Amherst County Botetourt County Caroline County Charlottesville City Clarke County Colonial Heights City Dinwiddie County Fluvanna County Goochland County Isle of Wight County Lancaster County Lee County Middlesex County Northampton County Pittsylvania County Powhatan County Scott County Southampton County Tazewell County Alleghany County and Clifton Forge City Amelia County Appomattox County Bath County Bland County Bristol City Brunswick County Buchanan County Buckingham County Buena Vista City Charles City County Charlotte County Covington City Craig County Cumberland County Dickenson County Emporia City Essex County Fairfax City Falls Church City Floyd County Franklin City Fredericksburg City Galax City Giles County Grayson County Greene County Greensville County Harrisonburg City Highland County Hopewell City King George County King William County King and Queen County Lexington City Lunenburg County Madison County Manassas City Manassas Park City Martinsville City Mathews County New Kent County Northumberland County Norton City Nottoway County Page County Patrick County Poquoson City Prince Edward County Prince George County Radford City Rappahannock County Richmond County Rockbridge County Staunton City Surry County Sussex County Waynesboro City Westmoreland County Williamsburg City

Notes:
Created by statecancerprofiles.cancer.gov on 03/17/2026 12:38 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:
Alleghany County and Clifton Forge City, Amelia County, Appomattox County, Bath County, Bland County, Bristol City, Brunswick County, Buchanan County, Buckingham County, Buena Vista City, Charles City County, Charlotte County, Covington City, Craig County, Cumberland County, Dickenson County, Emporia City, Essex County, Fairfax City, Falls Church City, Floyd County, Franklin City, Fredericksburg City, Galax City, Giles County, Grayson County, Greene County, Greensville County, Harrisonburg City, Highland County, Hopewell City, King George County, King William County, King and Queen County, Lexington City, Lunenburg County, Madison County, Manassas City, Manassas Park City, Martinsville City, Mathews County, New Kent County, Northumberland County, Norton City, Nottoway County, Page County, Patrick County, Poquoson City, Prince Edward County, Prince George County, Radford City, Rappahannock County, Richmond County, Rockbridge County, Staunton City, Surry County, Sussex County, Waynesboro City, Westmoreland County, Williamsburg City

Trend for the following could not be reliably determined due to small number of deaths per year:
Amherst County, Botetourt County, Caroline County, Charlottesville City, Clarke County, Colonial Heights City, Dinwiddie County, Fluvanna County, Goochland County, Isle of Wight County, Lancaster County, Lee County, Middlesex County, Northampton County, Pittsylvania County, Powhatan County, Scott County, Southampton County, Tazewell 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.