DCPC Works: Cancer News from CDC

Success in CDC Efforts to Decrease Indoor Tanning

Between 2009 and 2015, CDC led an inter-agency and multi-partner effort to speed the decline in indoor tanning bed use. A recent article in MMWRshowed dramatic progress in rates of indoor tanning among high school students during that time period. According to Youth Risk Behavior Survey data, Indoor tanning went down from 2.5 million youth to 1.2 million (15.6% to 7.3%).

Reducing the harms of indoor tanning is one of the five strategic goals of the 2014 Surgeon General's Call to Action to Prevent Skin Cancer.

DCPC Announces National Cancer Conference

The Division of Cancer Prevention and Control is announces the 2017 National Cancer Conference. This event has been scheduled to take place in Atlanta, Georgia on August 14 through August 16, 2017. The theme is "Visualizing the Future Through Prevention, Innovation, and Communication." Conference speakers will discuss primary prevention and motivating personal behavior change; share the newest innovations regarding cancer prevention, treatment, care and survivorship; and highlight more effective public health communication strategies. Details regarding registration and a call for abstracts will follow.

CDC's Inside Knowledge Campaign Updates Tools for Women

For September, National Gynecologic and Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, CDC's Inside Knowledge: Get the Facts About Gynecologic Cancer campaign has updated and re-designed symptoms information presented in two important tools for women: the Gynecologic Cancer Symptoms Diary and Symptoms Diary Wallet Card. These tools include a symptoms chart for the five main gynecologic cancers, and allow women to track whatever symptoms they notice over a two-week timespan. Women and providers can download and print PDFs, or order printed copies from the Print Publication Ordering System. More tools and resources for women and providers will be updated in the coming weeks, including a comprehensive brochure, fact sheets on each gynecologic cancer, and other shareable content for social media. New posters are in the works, and an interactive quiz for women will be released in the next two weeks.

DCPC Speakers Attend Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccination Conference

Lisa Richardson, MD, MPH; Vicki Benard, PhD; Mona Saraiya, MD, MPH; and Nikki Hayes, MPH attended the National Conference on Best and Promising Practices for Increasing HPV Vaccination and the second annual meeting hosted by the National HPV Roundtable on August 29 through 31. In addition, Dr. Richardson and Ms. Hayes presented on "Cancer Prevention and Immunization: Optimizing Collaboration" during the annual meeting. The Best Practice Conference included presentations and discussions on high-impact and emerging strategies for increasing HPV vaccination, as well as presentations and reports on pilot projects from each of the Roundtable Task Groups.

Division Director Presents at AJCC Meeting

Dr. Richardson also gave a presentation at the American Joint Committee on Cancer annual meeting on September 9 in Chicago. The AJCC is the body that publishes the definitive guides to cancer staging.

CDC-Funded Network Releases Fact Sheets

The SelfMade Health Network, part of the Consortium of National Networks to Impact Tobacco and Cancer-related Health Disparities, has released a series of Determinants of Health fact sheets focusing on tobacco and cancer-related disparities for people living with low economic status. Fact sheets include, "Smoking and Working Adults," "Smoking and Poverty," "Cancer Survivorship," and others. Since July, more than 700 fact sheets have been downloaded.

DCPC Authors Publish Viewpoint on Sun Protection in Schools

Gery Guy, PhD, MPH; Dawn Holman, MPH; and Meg Watson, MPH co-authored a piece in JAMA Dermatology on the important role of schools in the prevention of skin cancer. The risk of developing melanoma later in life is strongly related to a history of sun exposure and sunburns in childhood and adolescence. Despite this, CDC findings reveal that few schools take steps to help prevent skin cancer.

Blog: A Rural Community Overcomes Barriers to Colorectal Cancer Screening

Dr. Van S. Breeding shares his story about efforts to increase colorectal cancer screening rates in rural Kentucky by overcoming cultural, financial, and personal barriers. The effort meant partnering with a local hospital system to provide local outreach centers and more flexible times for colonoscopie

Abstract Plus 3.6 Now Available

The new version of Abstract Plus, a no-cost cancer data collection tool developed by CDC that is used to summarize medical records into electronic reports, is available for download. The most recent version has new support for coding tumor/node/metastases (TNM) staging and deriving state groups according to the AJCC's manual. Generic versions do not include AJCC licensed content, but a version only for NPCR registries does contain that information.