Oral Cancer in Nevada: A Public Health Perspective

Due to the rising costs of health care in the US and the limited resources available for health prevention efforts, it is essential to organize and direct more effective efforts by public health officials and epidemiologists, as well as funding from local, state and federal governments, to reduce and eliminate identified health disparities. This study provides evidence of state-specific increases in oral cancer that are not associated with the increases previously observed among females and minorities, thereby providing new insights regarding potential methods to identify changes in relevant trends in geographic areas which may experience increases in tobacco-induced diseases in the future. As state and local public health professionals strive to formulate effective prevention and education programs for their residents, understanding the relationships between cause and effect, as well as the primary or secondary factors that more accurately indicate the potential for increased risk, becomes more imperative.