{"id":16,"date":"2016-07-22T15:53:56","date_gmt":"2016-07-22T15:53:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/virginia-cancer-registry\/?page_id=16"},"modified":"2026-03-27T14:09:57","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T18:09:57","slug":"cancer-clusters","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/virginia-cancer-registry\/cancer-clusters\/","title":{"rendered":"Cancer Cluster Information"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Use the link below to submit a cancer cluster inquiry. We encourage you to please read our \u2018Virginia Cancer Registry Cancer Cluster Investigation Procedure' before submitting the form.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>

\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tCancer Cluster Report Form\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>
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The following information provides a background of cancer, cancer clusters, and <\/span>the cancer cluster<\/span> investigation process. <\/span>Summaries of previous suspected cancer cluster inquiries can be found at the bottom of the page, or by clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>

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What is cancer?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u201cCancer\u201d is one term that is used to refer to over one hundred different diseases. These diseases have in common an uncontrolled multiplication and growth of abnormal cells and the ability to spread to body parts that are distant from the original site. Cancers, as a group, are very common. Cancers are the second leading cause of death in the United States and Virginia, exceeded only by diseases of the heart and circulatory system. According to the American Cancer Society, one of every two men and one of every three women will be diagnosed with some form of cancer at some time in their lives.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

What causes cancers to form?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Different cancers have different risk factors which promote their development. For example, cigarette smoking causes lung cancer, overexposure to the sun has been shown to be associated with the development of skin cancer, and lack of dietary fiber may be related to colorectal cancer. Other risk factors that have been identified include alcohol abuse, family history of cancer, age, sex, race, and some specific occupational exposures. Smoking, alcohol abuse, and poor diet account for 80% of the cancer deaths that occur.<\/p>\n

The degree to which environmental pollution causes cancer is not precisely known, but most experts agree that less than five percent of cancers are caused by pollution. Given that specific exposures are linked to specific types of cancer, if an environmental exposure caused cancer, its effects would be manifest in the occurrence of cases of the same type of cancer.<\/p>\n

How quickly does cancer develop?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Cancers differ with respect to latency, or the time between exposure to one or more cancer-causing agents and the development of cancer. Generally speaking, however, cancers commonly take 10 to 30 years or more to develop to the point of being detectable. In\u00a0 children, the time from exposure to cancer development is shorter, 1-10 years. When looking for the cause of cancer, one must consider exposures that took place at least ten years before the cancer was diagnosed.<\/p>\n

What is a Cancer Cluster?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

A\u00a0cancer cluster<\/strong>\u00a0is defined as an \u201ca greater than expected number of the same or etiologically related cancer cases that occurs within a group of people in a geographic area over a defined period of time.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

To be a cancer cluster, a group of cancer cases must meet the following criteria. Until all of these parameters are met, the group of cancer cases is often referred to as a suspected cancer cluster.<\/strong><\/p>\n