Department of Statistics Seminar
North Carolina State University

presents

Dr. Marcia Gumpertz

North Carolina State University

"Spatial Pattern of Late Diagnosis of Breast Cancer in Los Angeles County"

ABSTRACT

A map of all breast cancer diagnosed in Los Angeles County from 1992-1996 shows that the proportion of cases diagnosed late is not homogeneous thr oughout the county. This has important implications for public health because the survival rate for breast cancer is associated with extent of disease at the time of diagnosis. The pattern of late diagnosis shows some visual correspondence with residence patterns of different racial and ethn ic groups and with other socio-economic variables. About 6% of cases in Los Angeles County in this time period were diagnosed late by our definit ion. One way of modeling the relationship between tumor stage at diagnos is and explanatory variables while incorporating random spatial variation is to include random census tract effects in a generalized linear mixe d model. This type of analysis might be used for determining where to tar get public health education efforts or more intensive study. It can also be used to answer questions about whether observed spatial patterns can be predicted by particular socio-economic variables. In this talk I will focus on some practical aspects of developing and fitting this kind of model, evaluating the fit, and interpreting the results.

This is a joint work with Linda Pickle and Barry Miller.

Friday, September 29, 2000

3:35 - 4:35 pm

206 Cox Hall

Refreshments will be served on the second floor of Dabney Hall (left of Room 222) at 3:00 pm.