IOWA CITY, Iowa (IOWA CAPITAL DISPATCH) – As Iowa officials drill down on their fight to understand and address high cancer rates in the state, a mapping tool developed by University of Iowa researchers is informing their and other states’ work — and the network is set to keep growing.
Where previously only countywide data was available on what types of cancers are prevalent in different areas, Cancer Analytics & Maps for Small Areas, or CAMSA, shows cancer incidence and mortality rates in areas as small as zip codes. It uses statistical modeling based on data from the Iowa Cancer Registry, showing different measures of cancer incidence and risk probability for different age groups and sexes across Iowa.
Biostatistics professor and director of graduate studies Jacob Oleson said he’s been working on this project and its different iterations since 2015. Caglar Koylu, associate professor in the UI School of Earth, Environment and Sustainability, said he brought “expertise on cartography and user interactions” to the team in order to ensure everyone from researchers to members of the public can understand the tool and learn what they need to from it…