Nova Scotia Health researching cancer risks in hundreds of communities

Researchers from Nova Scotia Health are poring over local cancer data as part of a new study, with the aim of providing evidence the province can use to tailor cancer prevention measures for different communities.

The Nova Scotia Community Cancer Matrix study is analyzing the risk of 22 different types of cancer in 301 communities.

Lead researcher Nathalie Saint-Jacques said this is the first research project in Atlantic Canada that looks at cancer data at such a local level.

This is important because provincial and county data is not enough to determine where the province should focus its cancer prevention efforts, Saint-Jacques said.

"We have limited [resources] and we know that 50 per cent of the cancers are caused by factors that are avoidable and they're therefore preventable," she said. "So cancer prevention is really the most cost-effective and sustainable way to [control] cancer."

Higher bladder cancer risk in southwest

This research is also important because Nova Scotia has among the highest rates of cancer and prevalence of cancer-causing factors in the country, said Krista Rigby, director of population oncology at Nova Scotia Health.

The study is examining which communities have had higher-than-average rates of cancer over time, and what factors may be driving those higher risks.

It is also looking at how social and economic factors like income may affect a community's ability to address cancer risks. 

For example, some people may not be able to afford tests needed to identify cancer-causing factors like radon exposure or arsenic in well water. Others may not be able to pay for measures needed to reduce or eliminate those risks after they've been identified, Rigby said. 

A peer-reviewed paper examining lung and bladder cancer was recently published as part of this ongoing research. 

One key finding, Saint-Jacques said, was that many communities in southwest Nova Scotia have had persistently higher bladder cancer risk compared to others in the province.

The study also found that communities in parts of the province like Cape Breton may have different lung cancer risk factors compared to suburban Halifax.

Research is a starting point

"This is a place to start the discussion," Rigby said, adding that cancer prevention is complex and requires collaboration between government, research and health-care organizations.

"It's really [about] being able to put policy and, you know, financial support … in place so that everybody has the ability to have access to mitigate these risks, regardless of where they are within the province," Rigby said.

Cancer prevention may also help address chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease, which share risk factors with cancers.

"If we can actually make a difference with prevention activities, improve the health of Nova Scotians … I think we're just going to be better off all around," Rigby said. 

The researchers are now expanding their scope to include 465 communities across  Atlantic Canada.