New study notes higher prevalence of cancer in U.S. jails

Two specific types of cancer are showing up in high numbers among people in jail and prison and Indiana is no exception.

A new study found a lack of resources for on-site treatment is one reason. The data showed diagnoses and mortality numbers for liver and lung cancer are more prevalent among county jails and state prisons.

Dr. Jingxuan Zhao, senior scientist for the American Cancer Society and lead author of the study, said individuals may need to be transferred to outside facilities to receive cancer treatment, which is often denied or delayed, and people with cancer and those behind bars share some characteristics or risk factors.

"Some of the risk factors for developing liver cancer included hepatitis B and C, unhealthy alcohol use," Zhao outlined. "As we know that for lung cancer, smoking is a huge risk factor, and those factors are also very common among people who are currently incarcerated or with incarceration history."

She added studies have shown people who have been incarcerated are more likely to receive breast and colorectal cancer screenings, compared to their counterparts. The Prison Policy Initiative estimated 25,000 people are in Indiana state prisons, with another 19,000 in local jails.

This study examined the association of county jail and state prison incarceration rates and cancer mortality rates in the U.S. Researchers used data from nearly 3,100 counties and every state. Zhao acknowledged researching incarceration and cancer care comes with some built-in challenges.

"There are several reasons, such as privacy and ethical concerns, also legal protection of incarceration data, and more importantly, the decentralization of the U.S. correctional system," Zhao explained. "There are some ongoing efforts to link, like, state cancer registry data and the state correctional facility data, but that's only among some single states."

Zhao added there is no multistate linkage for data, which is important for their research. The study noted the U.S. has one of the highest incarceration rates in the world, in one recent year, with 350 people in prison and another 192 in jail per 100,000 people.

Indiana News Service