Iowans are used to reports on cancer rates containing bad news for the state. Annual reports from the Iowa Cancer Registry and the National Cancer Institute have documented Iowa’s remarkably high rate of new cancers. Only tobacco-heavy Kentucky has a higher rate of new cases. Now, a report from the American Lung Association (ALA) published this week finds the rate of new lung cancer cases among Iowans is “significantly higher” than the national average.
According to the association’s “State of Lung Cancer” report, Iowa’s rate of new lung cancer cases is 60.3 per 100,000 residents. The national average is 52.8 per 100,000. The ALA used data from 2022, the most recent year for which complete data is available, in its analysis.
The report, which covers all 50 states and the District of Columbia, ranks Iowa 39th for rate of new cases. Among Iowa’s neighboring states only Nebraska, with 51.9 new cases per 100,000 residents, had a lower rate than the national average. South Dakota’s rate is 54.0, Minnesota’s is 54.2, Wisconsin’s is 55.5 and Illinois’ rate is 58.1. Missouri was the only neighboring state with a rate higher than Iowa, with 68.2 cases per 100,000.
One section of the report looked at racial disparities in rates of lung cancer. At the national level, the rate among Black Americans is higher than the overall rate, 54.2 per 100,000 compared to 52.8, but the disparity in Iowa is much greater. The rate of new cases of lung cancer is 78.5 per 100,000, well above the state’s overall rate of 60.3. According to the report, the five-year survival rate for Black Iowans diagnosed with lung cancer is 21.9 percent, and the five-year survival rate for white Iowans is 27.5 percent.
Iowa’s overall five-year survival rate is 27.1 percent, which the report describes as “significantly lower” than the national rate of 29.7 percent. (Five-year survival rates were only available from 39 states for this year’s “State of Lung Cancer.”)
The report does not attempt to explore the causes of lung cancer in Iowa, but it does have statistics for one obvious cause. Iowa ranks 33rd among the states and the District of Columbia when it comes to smoking. Iowa’s smoking rate is 13.7 percent; the national rate is 11.4 percent.
The report does include some comparatively good news as well. Although it calls Iowa’s rate of new cases of lung cancer “significantly higher than the national rate,” that rate is actually an improvement. Over the five years of data researchers looked at, Iowa’s rate of new cases improved by 7 percent. The state also ranks near the national average in screenings for lung cancer, and near the national average for detecting lung cancer cases at an early stage. The ALA also gives the Iowa Legislature credit for requiring insurance companies to pay for biomarker testing, a process that examines the DNA of a cancerous tumor for changes.
“In the last decade, we have seen incredible progress, including increases in lung cancer survival and early detection rates,” Kristina Hamilton, director of advocacy for the ALA, said in a news release accompanying the report. “This means that more people in Iowa are living longer after a lung cancer diagnosis. While this progress gives us hope, early detection and survival rates are far too low in our state. Additionally, given cigarette smoking is a leading cause of lung cancer, it is critical that the Iowa General Assembly finally increases the tax on cigarettes, which has not been done in nearly 20 years.”
This year’s report was the ALA’s eighth annual “State of Lung Cancer.”
