The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services released a new Nebraska Cancer Registry Dashboard on Wednesday that outlines cancer trends across the state from 2000 to 2023.
According to a DHHS news release, the interactive dashboard presents cancer incidence data, including trends over time, demographic breakdowns, geographic distribution and stage at diagnosis. It includes age-adjusted incidence rates, case counts and percentages based on data collected by the Nebraska Cancer Registry.
DHHS Public Health Division Director Ashley Newmyer said the data provides valuable insight into the overall health of Nebraskans.
“Understanding cancer trends in Nebraska helps guide targeted public health prevention strategies, raise awareness and improve outcomes for populations at greatest risk,” Newmyer said in the release. “This dashboard serves as an essential resource for residents, health care providers, researchers and local health departments, supporting efforts to build healthier individuals, stronger families and more informed communities across Nebraska.”
According to DHHS, the dashboard allows results to be filtered by cancer type, geographic location and demographic characteristics. Users can combine multiple years of data, examine trends over time, and explore data in charts, tables, and maps.
To protect privacy, DHHS said it suppresses certain data. Case counts between one and five are not available, and in cases where only one category would be suppressed, an additional category is also withheld to prevent identification through subtraction.
The release said DHHS makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of the data, though completeness depends on reporting entities. Final datasets are compiled annually for statistical reporting and used to update the dashboard, which will be revised accordingly.