About this website
The Oregon Health Authority has adopted health equity as one of its core values and is committed to the strategic goal of eliminating health inequities by the year 2030. As a part of this commitment, OHA’s colorectal cancer screening program is working with partners throughout the state to increase colorectal cancer screening rates in communities that experience the most inequitable burden of colorectal cancer (see Data Section [link] for more information).
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) awarded a grant to OHA to increase colorectal cancer screening rates in Oregon. The creation of this website is funded in part by that CDC grant, and is a part of OHA’s overall cancer prevention efforts.
Colorectal Cancer in Oregon
Colorectal cancer is cancer that starts in the colon or the rectum. In Oregon, it is the fourth most common type of cancer diagnosed.¹ It’s also the fourth leading cause of cancer death in our state.¹ Screening for colorectal cancer is important because screening tests can help prevent cancer and can help find cancer earlier when it might be easier to treat.²
Both nationally and in Oregon, people are being diagnosed with colorectal cancer at younger ages. Most national guidelines advise starting screening at age 45 for those at average risk, although some guidelines for specific populations may recommend that screening start even earlier. For example, in March of 2024, Indian Health Service changed its recommendation for non-Latino/a American Indians and Alaskan Native people to begin colorectal cancer screening at age 40.³
Improvements
The great news is that the overall rates of colorectal cancer diagnosis and deaths in Oregon have gone down for all populations over the past decades. From the year 2000 to 2021, the rate of colorectal diagnosis per 100,000 people dropped from 52.5 to 30.8.⁴ Deaths due to colorectal cancer has also decreased in this time frame from 17.7 to 12.7 per 100,000 people.⁵
Rate of colorectal cancer diagnosis per 100,000 people by year
Rate of colorectal cancer deaths per 100,000 people by year
Screening rates
Not surprisingly, the decrease in number of diagnoses and deaths have happened while screening rates have increased across all groups of people in Oregon.⁶ The Oregon Health Authority’s Colorectal Cancer Program is supporting its partners to achieve the American Cancer Society Colorectal Cancer Roundtable goal of an 80% screening rate for all communities. Although Oregon is showing overall improvement in screening, no group that has reached the 80% goal (see this site’s Data Section).⁷
This data is reported from the 2020 age-adjusted cancer incidence rate from the Oregon State Cancer Registry and 2022 age-adjusted Oregon Death Certificate data. According to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention United States Cancer Statistics: Data Visualization page, colorectal cancer is the fourth most common cancer site diagnosed by rate and the fourth most common cause of all cancer deaths by rate. Other sources may use other methods of data reporting which can change this ranking. For instance, some sources use counts, not rates, which reflect that colorectal cancer is the second most common cause of all cancer deaths. Data can be reported in many ways, and none of the examples above are incorrect.
Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. (2024, May 30). Get screened for colorectal cancer. US. Department of health and Human Services. https://health.gov/myhealthfinder/doctor-visits/screening-tests/get-screened-colorectal-cancer#:~:text=The%20risk%20of%20developing%20colorectal,polyps%20(growths)%20inside%20the%20colon
Indian Health Service. (2024, March 4). Cancer Screening Recommendations. U.S> Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.ihs.gov/ihm/sgm/2024/cancer-screening-recommendations/
Oregon Health Authority’s Cancer Data Portal, May 30, 2024.
Oregon Health Authority’s Cancer Data Portal, April 1, 2024.
Oregon Health Authority’s Chronic Disease Portal, April 1, 2024
Oregon Health Authority’s Chronic Disease Portal, April 1, 2024