A cancer cluster refers to the occurrence of a greater than expected number of cancer cases among a group of people in a defined geographic area over a specific time period. A cancer cluster may be suspected when people report that several family members, friends, neighbors, or coworkers have been diagnosed with...
National Cancer Institute. Cancer Clusters. 2018. Accessed at www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/substances/cancer-clusters-fact-sheet on April 29, 2019. National Center for Environmental Health, CDC, Atlanta, Georgia.
A cancer cluster may be suspected when people report that several family members, friends, neighbors, or coworkers have been diagnosed with the same or related types of cancer. Because cancer is a relatively common disease, cases of cancer can appear to cluster even when there is no connection among them.
Because cancer is a relatively common disease, cases of cancer can appear to cluster even when there is no connection among them. That is, clusters of cancer can arise by chance. Some cancer clusters have been shown through careful investigation to be the result of a specific cancer-causing substance in the environment.
Health departments provide the first response to questions about cancer clusters because they, together with state cancer registries, will have the most up-to-date data on cancer incidence in the area. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website provides links to state and local health departments .
Although potential cancer clusters are evaluated primarily by state and local health departments, states may request technical advice or assistance from several federal agencies: the CDC; the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), which is part of CDC; and the Environmental Protection Agency.