This newest publication covers 2013-2017 and is the most updated aggregated cancer data available from the Guam Cancer Registry. Work on the next five-year report begins in about a year.

Based on the 2013-2017 data:

• On average, one person is diagnosed with cancer every day in Guam based on an age-adjusted rate for every 100,000 people.
• One resident dies of cancer every 2.3 days in Guam.
• Most cancer deaths are from lung, colorectal, liver and breast, as these account for more than half of all cancer deaths.
• Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among males and females.
• Males account for a higher number of new cases and deaths than females.
• About 1.5% of new cancer cases were diagnosed in persons 0-24 years of age and 43% of new cases were diagnosed in persons with ages 65 years and older.
• Data from 2013-2017 suggest that new cancer cases declined 13.9% compared with the prior five-year period, but this may be due in part to a change in data reporting. Only invasive cases were included in 2013-2017.
• Cancer of the lung and bronchus was the leading cause of cancer deaths in males and females. Cigarette smoking, exposure to secondhand smoke, radiation exposure, and occupational exposure to smoking are among the risk factors associated with lung cancer.
• By ethnicity, Micronesians – defined as people from the Federated States of Micronesia, Palau and the Marshall Islands – had the highest cancer incidence rates (438) compared to 280 overall in Guam. Their rates for liver cancer incidence were nearly five times higher than those in the United States and three times higher than in Guam’s overall.
• CHamorus had the highest age-adjusted incidence rates in cancers of the nasopharynx (the upper part of the throat that starts at the back of the nasal cavity), esophagus, urinary bladder, and leukemia.

Cancer was the second-highest leading cause of death in Guam next to cardiovascular diseases.

Data to help identify health-care priorities

“We have sufficient data to examine trends and to determine which areas in cancer prevention and control stand out as service and resource priorities. By translating these data into action through policies and programs, we hope to reverse the growing burden of cancer in Guam,” according to a joint message from Rachael Leon Guerrero, Vice Provost for Research and Sponsored Programs at UOG and Director of the Guam Cancer Registry; and the late Margaret Hattori-Uchima, Dean of the Margaret Perez Hattori-Uchima School of Health who passed away on Dec. 26, 2022.

Dr. Delores Lee, lead author of the publication, said screening saves lives. “I have seen it help detect cancer early when it’s treatable,” Dr. Lee said.

The publication was funded by the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs and Department of Public Health and Social Services through the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Guam Cancer Registry a mandate in law

The Guam Cancer Registry was established in 1998 by Public Law 24-198 to collect and abstract cancer data from all health-care providers and non-medical sources within its jurisdiction.

The Guam Cancer Registry would like to extend its sincere appreciation and gratitude to all the facilities and organizations who provided information for data sharing and analysis. Without their support, reports like Facts and Figures would not be possible.

For additional information of UOG Guam Cancer Registry:

• Visit the Guam Cancer Registry webpage
• Contact Renata Bordallo, Research Associate II, Data Collection Specialist, Guam Cancer Registry, Office of Research and Sponsored Programs at UOG (671) 735-2988/0129 or renatab@triton.uog.edu.

Guam Cancer Facts and Figures 2013-2017