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filed. In order to justify investigating such claims, health departments conduct a preliminary review. Data will be collected and verified regarding: the types of cancer reported, numbers of cases, geographic area of the cases, and the patients clinical history. At this point, a committee of medical professionals will examine the data and determine whether or not an investigation (often lengthy and expensive) is justified.
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In the U.S., state and local health departments respond to more than 1,000 inquiries about suspected cancer clusters each year. It is possible that a suspected cancer cluster may be due to chance alone; however, only clusters that have a disease rate that is statistically significantly greater than
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Cancer cluster suspicions usually arise when members of the general public report that their family members, friends, neighbors, or coworkers have been diagnosed with the same or related cancers. State or local health departments will investigate the possibility of a cancer cluster when a claim is
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the disease rate of the general population are investigated. Given the number of inquiries it is likely that many of these are due to chance alone. It is a well-known problem in interpreting data that random cases of cancer can appear to form clumps that are misinterpreted as a cluster.
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A cluster is less likely to be coincidental if the case consists of one type of cancer, a rare type of cancer, or a type of cancer that is not usually found in a certain age group. Between 5% and 15% of suspected cancer clusters are
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incident in which multiple chemicals were found in drinking water. The CDC found that marines stationed at the base had a 10% higher rate of cancer deaths than those stationed elsewhere.
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Historical examples of work-related cancer clusters are well documented in the medical literature. Notable examples include: scrotal cancer among
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101:. In this randomly generated scatter graph, arcs and patterns appear to exist that have formed only by coincidence.
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Devier, J. R.; Brownson, R. C.; Bagby, J. R. Jr.; Carlson, G. M.; Crellin, J. R. & C (1990),
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cases occurs in a group of people in a particular geographic area over a limited period of time.
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Statisticians examining data for cancer clusters must beware of random coincidences, which
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Australian Story about a cluster of breast cancer cases in the workplace
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Thun, M. J. & Sinks, T. (2004), "Understanding Cancer
Clusters",
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Unusual
Patterns of Cancer, the Environment, and Community Concerns
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228:. National Cancer Institute. U.S. National Institutes of Health.
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Some of the larger or more well known cancer clusters include:
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National
Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)
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Pub Med - latest standards for evaluating cancer clusters
279:"A public health response to cancer clusters in Missouri"
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369:"Camp Lejeune Study Finds Higher Cancer Death Risk"
390:Cancer Mortality Maps & Graphs: U.S., 1950-94
325:"Go Figure: How can you explain cancer clusters?"
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174:Toms River: A Story of Science and Salvation
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195:"About Unusual Patterns of Cancer"
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53:in dye workers exposed to
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26:in which a high number of
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37:in 18th-century London;
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107:List of cancer clusters
115:At least 700 cases of
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99:seem to form a pattern
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45:in the 20th century;
452:Spatial epidemiology
309:on 27 September 2009
167:Fooled by Randomness
161:Environmental racism
117:clear-cell carcinoma
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219:Cancer Facts
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146:Cancer Alley
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49:in farmers;
39:osteosarcoma
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371:. NBC News.
354:www.cdc.gov
47:skin cancer
441:Categories
181:References
431:Medicine
329:BBC News
265:15371285
222:Archived
135:See also
89:Examples
63:lymphoma
59:leukemia
334:7 April
303:2356832
204:23 June
67:benzene
55:aniline
417:Portal
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41:among
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