The 10 States with the Highest Risk for Cancer
The greatest risk for developing cancer faces residents of South Dakota, where radon levels are the nation's highest, and ranks for alcohol consumption and obesity are poor.
Cancer new cases and deaths, measuring the incidence and mortality rates associated with cancer, and population values, used for normalizing data to ensure fair comparison, are for 2024.
A diagnosis of cancer rarely reflects a single underlying cause, with the much more likely etiology the result of a complex interplay and overlapping of diverse factors including genetics, environmental exposures, geographic location, lifestyle choices, and sociocultural influences.
Based on a composite score reflecting rates and concentrations of 9 such variables across US states, a recent study found South Dakota had the population at the greatest risk for developing cancer, with extremely high radon levels and excessive alcohol consumption the top contributing factors to the composite score of 99.9. At second highest risk was West Virginia (composite score 98.4), likely based on its claim to the highest rates of smoking and obesity among all states.
The short slide show above offers a snapshot of the study results from research conducted by Masumi Headwear (www.masumiheadwear.com), a company that provides chemotherapy headwear for hair loss.
Full methodology for the study is available here.
Recent Videos
Related Content
