STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Elevated cancer rates have long been a concern for Staten Islanders, with new state health data showing that rates for the borough’s most common cancers have increased slightly.
Staten Island has had the highest overall cancer rate of any borough every year for more than two straight decades, with the borough’s rate of all invasive malignant tumors, which covers all types of cancer, currently sitting more than 20% above the New York City average.
“Staten Island has generally had the highest overall age-adjusted cancer rate among the five boroughs of New York City dating back to 1976, the first year for which statewide population-based cancer data are available for New York state,” according to a 2019 report by the New York State Department of Health…