New York, New Jersey and Connecticut are among the 10 states with the highest cancer rates in the nation, according to data provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
To identify the rate of cancer in every state, the CDC looked at data from 2014, which is the most recent data available.
Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States, followed only by heart disease, according to the CDC.
The probability of being diagnosed with the disease depends on a range of factors and incident rates vary widely between states.
- New York comes in at No. 5 with 276.5 cancer diagnoses per 100,000 people. The state has the 11th highest number of breast cancer diagnoses and the 10th lowest number of cancer deaths per year, according to the data.
- New Jersey comes in at No. 7. The state has 472.8 cancer diagnoses per 100,000 people. Breast cancer diagnoses in New Jersey are the 8th highest in the country and cancer deaths overall are the the 17th lowest.
- No. 10. on the list is Connecticut. The state has 467.0 cancer diagnoses per 100,000 people and the second highest number breast cancer diagnoses. Cancer deaths in Connecticut are the eighth lowest in the country, according to the data.
Breast cancer was found to be the most commonly diagnosed form of cancer in these states, but lung-related cancer was found to be the most deadly.
The report shows no pattern between income levels in a state and cancer diagnosis rates. But rates of mortality do appear to be linked to financial status.
Local
In New York state, cancer is now the second leading cause of death, with the highest rates of diagnoses found in residents of four counties, according to the state's Department of Health.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Wednesday the state plans to invest $500,000 to study what factors might be behind the higher cancer rates on State Island, Long Island, Warren County and parts of Western New York.
"Each year, nearly 110,000 New Yorkers learn they have cancer, and around 35,000 die from the disease," the governor's office said in a statement. "This new data-driven effort will help identify the central causes leading to higher rates of cancer in certain regions and ultimately help develop the most effective programs to prevent and treat cancer."
The findings from the study are expected within one year.
