State Cancer Profiles

Interpretation of Rate/Trend Comparison by Cancer Data

Death Rate/Trend Comparison by Cancer, 2018-2022

Alabama Counties versus United States

Esophagus

All Races, Both Sexes

Sorted by priority index

Explanation of Column Headers

State/County - The site and sex combination for this comparison.

Priority Index ¹ - The priority index is based upon the direction of the trend and the rate comparison. An index of 1 is the highest priority - that trend is rising and the rate is already higher. An index of 9 is the lowest priority - the trend is falling and the rate is already lower.

Recent Trends - This is an interpretation of the AAPC:

• Rising when 95% confidence interval of average annual percent change is above 0.
• Stable when 95% confidence interval of average annual percent change includes 0.
• Falling when 95% confidence interval of average annual percent change is below 0.

AAPC (95% Confidence Interval) - The Average Annual Percent Change is the change in rate over time. These AAPCs are based upon APCs that were calculated by Joinpoint Regression Program

Other Notes

• Larger confidence intervals indicate less stability of the data. This is often due to low counts that are not quite low enough to be suppressed.
• Data is currently being suppressed if there are fewer than 16 counts for the time period.

Line by Line Interpretation of the Report

United States

• Recent Trend(2) : The trend is fallingfalling because the trend is -1.1 with a 95% confidence interval from -1.6 to -0.8.
• Rate : The death rate is 3.7 with a 95% confidence interval from 3.7 to 3.8 and 15,762 average annual deaths.

Alabama

• Recent Trend(2) : The trend is fallingfalling because the trend is -1.8 with a 95% confidence interval from -6.5 to -0.4.
• Rate : The death rate is 3.5 with a 95% confidence interval from 3.3 to 3.7 and 235 average annual deaths.

Calhoun County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index is 2.
• Recent Trend(2) : The trend is risingrising because the trend is 2.3 with a 95% confidence interval from 0.4 to 4.9.
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : This death rate is similar compared to the US rate
• Rate : The death rate is 5.1 with a 95% confidence interval from 3.6 to 7.0 and 8 average annual deaths.
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : The rate ratio is 1.4

Baldwin County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index is 4.
• Recent Trend(2) : The trend is stablestable because the trend is 0.2 with a 95% confidence interval from -1.1 to 2.2.
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : This death rate is higher compared to the US rate
• Rate : The death rate is 5.4 with a 95% confidence interval from 4.3 to 6.6 and 19 average annual deaths.
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : The rate ratio is 1.4

Talladega County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index is 6.
• Recent Trend(2) : The trend is stablestable because the trend is 0.9 with a 95% confidence interval from -1.2 to 3.6.
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : This death rate is similar compared to the US rate
• Rate : The death rate is 3.5 with a 95% confidence interval from 2.1 to 5.5 and 4 average annual deaths.
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : The rate ratio is 0.9

Montgomery County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index is 7.
• Recent Trend(2) : The trend is stablestable because the trend is -1.2 with a 95% confidence interval from -2.7 to 0.3.
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : This death rate is lower compared to the US rate
• Rate : The death rate is 2.7 with a 95% confidence interval from 1.9 to 3.8 and 7 average annual deaths.
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : The rate ratio is 0.7

Tuscaloosa County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index is 7.
• Recent Trend(2) : The trend is stablestable because the trend is -1.5 with a 95% confidence interval from -3.2 to 0.5.
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : This death rate is lower compared to the US rate
• Rate : The death rate is 2.7 with a 95% confidence interval from 1.8 to 3.9 and 6 average annual deaths.
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : The rate ratio is 0.7

Jefferson County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index is 8.
• Recent Trend(2) : The trend is fallingfalling because the trend is -1.7 with a 95% confidence interval from -2.4 to -1.0.
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : This death rate is similar compared to the US rate
• Rate : The death rate is 3.3 with a 95% confidence interval from 2.8 to 3.9 and 28 average annual deaths.
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : The rate ratio is 0.9

Mobile County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index is 8.
• Recent Trend(2) : The trend is fallingfalling because the trend is -0.9 with a 95% confidence interval from -1.8 to -0.1.
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : This death rate is similar compared to the US rate
• Rate : The death rate is 3.9 with a 95% confidence interval from 3.1 to 4.7 and 21 average annual deaths.
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : The rate ratio is 1.0

Madison County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index is 9.
• Recent Trend(2) : The trend is fallingfalling because the trend is -1.6 with a 95% confidence interval from -2.8 to 0.0.
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : This death rate is lower compared to the US rate
• Rate : The death rate is 2.8 with a 95% confidence interval from 2.1 to 3.6 and 13 average annual deaths.
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : The rate ratio is 0.7

Autauga County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index cannot be determined.
• Recent Trend(2) : **
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : This death rate is similar compared to the US rate
• Rate : The death rate is 4.7 with a 95% confidence interval from 2.7 to 7.7 and 3 average annual deaths.
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : The rate ratio is 1.3

Blount County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index cannot be determined.
• Recent Trend(2) : **
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : This death rate is higher compared to the US rate
• Rate : The death rate is 7.2 with a 95% confidence interval from 4.8 to 10.5 and 6 average annual deaths.
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : The rate ratio is 1.9

Cullman County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index cannot be determined.
• Recent Trend(2) : **
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : This death rate is similar compared to the US rate
• Rate : The death rate is 3.0 with a 95% confidence interval from 1.8 to 4.8 and 4 average annual deaths.
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : The rate ratio is 0.8

DeKalb County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index cannot be determined.
• Recent Trend(2) : **
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : This death rate is similar compared to the US rate
• Rate : The death rate is 4.2 with a 95% confidence interval from 2.5 to 6.6 and 4 average annual deaths.
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : The rate ratio is 1.1

Elmore County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index cannot be determined.
• Recent Trend(2) : **
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : This death rate is similar compared to the US rate
• Rate : The death rate is 3.0 with a 95% confidence interval from 1.7 to 4.9 and 3 average annual deaths.
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : The rate ratio is 0.8

Etowah County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index cannot be determined.
• Recent Trend(2) : **
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : This death rate is similar compared to the US rate
• Rate : The death rate is 3.6 with a 95% confidence interval from 2.4 to 5.3 and 6 average annual deaths.
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : The rate ratio is 1.0

Houston County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index cannot be determined.
• Recent Trend(2) : **
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : This death rate is similar compared to the US rate
• Rate : The death rate is 4.0 with a 95% confidence interval from 2.7 to 5.9 and 6 average annual deaths.
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : The rate ratio is 1.1

Jackson County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index cannot be determined.
• Recent Trend(2) : **
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : This death rate is similar compared to the US rate
• Rate : The death rate is 4.9 with a 95% confidence interval from 3.0 to 7.8 and 4 average annual deaths.
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : The rate ratio is 1.3

Lauderdale County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index cannot be determined.
• Recent Trend(2) : **
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : This death rate is similar compared to the US rate
• Rate : The death rate is 3.2 with a 95% confidence interval from 1.9 to 5.0 and 4 average annual deaths.
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : The rate ratio is 0.9

Lee County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index cannot be determined.
• Recent Trend(2) : **
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : This death rate is similar compared to the US rate
• Rate : The death rate is 3.6 with a 95% confidence interval from 2.4 to 5.2 and 6 average annual deaths.
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : The rate ratio is 1.0

Limestone County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index cannot be determined.
• Recent Trend(2) : **
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : This death rate is similar compared to the US rate
• Rate : The death rate is 2.7 with a 95% confidence interval from 1.6 to 4.4 and 4 average annual deaths.
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : The rate ratio is 0.7

Marshall County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index cannot be determined.
• Recent Trend(2) : **
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : This death rate is similar compared to the US rate
• Rate : The death rate is 5.0 with a 95% confidence interval from 3.4 to 7.2 and 6 average annual deaths.
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : The rate ratio is 1.3

Morgan County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index cannot be determined.
• Recent Trend(2) : **
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : This death rate is lower compared to the US rate
• Rate : The death rate is 2.6 with a 95% confidence interval from 1.7 to 4.0 and 5 average annual deaths.
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : The rate ratio is 0.7

Shelby County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index cannot be determined.
• Recent Trend(2) : **
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : This death rate is lower compared to the US rate
• Rate : The death rate is 1.9 with a 95% confidence interval from 1.3 to 2.8 and 6 average annual deaths.
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : The rate ratio is 0.5

Walker County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index cannot be determined.
• Recent Trend(2) : **
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : This death rate is similar compared to the US rate
• Rate : The death rate is 4.3 with a 95% confidence interval from 2.6 to 6.9 and 4 average annual deaths.
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : The rate ratio is 1.2

Barbour County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index cannot be determined.
• Recent Trend(2) : **
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : *
• Rate : *
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : *

Bibb County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index cannot be determined.
• Recent Trend(2) : **
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : *
• Rate : *
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : *

Bullock County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index cannot be determined.
• Recent Trend(2) : **
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : *
• Rate : *
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : *

Butler County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index cannot be determined.
• Recent Trend(2) : **
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : *
• Rate : *
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : *

Chambers County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index cannot be determined.
• Recent Trend(2) : **
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : *
• Rate : *
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : *

Cherokee County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index cannot be determined.
• Recent Trend(2) : **
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : *
• Rate : *
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : *

Chilton County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index cannot be determined.
• Recent Trend(2) : **
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : *
• Rate : *
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : *

Choctaw County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index cannot be determined.
• Recent Trend(2) : **
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : *
• Rate : *
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : *

Clarke County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index cannot be determined.
• Recent Trend(2) : **
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : *
• Rate : *
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : *

Clay County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index cannot be determined.
• Recent Trend(2) : **
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : *
• Rate : *
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : *

Cleburne County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index cannot be determined.
• Recent Trend(2) : **
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : *
• Rate : *
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : *

Coffee County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index cannot be determined.
• Recent Trend(2) : **
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : *
• Rate : *
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : *

Colbert County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index cannot be determined.
• Recent Trend(2) : **
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : *
• Rate : *
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : *

Conecuh County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index cannot be determined.
• Recent Trend(2) : **
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : *
• Rate : *
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : *

Coosa County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index cannot be determined.
• Recent Trend(2) : **
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : *
• Rate : *
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : *

Covington County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index cannot be determined.
• Recent Trend(2) : **
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : *
• Rate : *
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : *

Crenshaw County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index cannot be determined.
• Recent Trend(2) : **
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : *
• Rate : *
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : *

Dale County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index cannot be determined.
• Recent Trend(2) : **
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : *
• Rate : *
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : *

Dallas County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index cannot be determined.
• Recent Trend(2) : **
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : *
• Rate : *
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : *

Escambia County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index cannot be determined.
• Recent Trend(2) : **
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : *
• Rate : *
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : *

Fayette County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index cannot be determined.
• Recent Trend(2) : **
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : *
• Rate : *
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : *

Franklin County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index cannot be determined.
• Recent Trend(2) : **
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : *
• Rate : *
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : *

Geneva County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index cannot be determined.
• Recent Trend(2) : **
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : *
• Rate : *
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : *

Greene County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index cannot be determined.
• Recent Trend(2) : **
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : *
• Rate : *
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : *

Hale County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index cannot be determined.
• Recent Trend(2) : **
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : *
• Rate : *
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : *

Henry County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index cannot be determined.
• Recent Trend(2) : **
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : *
• Rate : *
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : *

Lamar County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index cannot be determined.
• Recent Trend(2) : **
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : *
• Rate : *
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : *

Lawrence County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index cannot be determined.
• Recent Trend(2) : **
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : *
• Rate : *
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : *

Lowndes County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index cannot be determined.
• Recent Trend(2) : **
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : *
• Rate : *
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : *

Macon County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index cannot be determined.
• Recent Trend(2) : **
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : *
• Rate : *
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : *

Marengo County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index cannot be determined.
• Recent Trend(2) : **
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : *
• Rate : *
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : *

Marion County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index cannot be determined.
• Recent Trend(2) : **
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : *
• Rate : *
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : *

Monroe County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index cannot be determined.
• Recent Trend(2) : **
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : *
• Rate : *
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : *

Perry County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index cannot be determined.
• Recent Trend(2) : **
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : *
• Rate : *
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : *

Pickens County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index cannot be determined.
• Recent Trend(2) : **
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : *
• Rate : *
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : *

Pike County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index cannot be determined.
• Recent Trend(2) : **
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : *
• Rate : *
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : *

Randolph County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index cannot be determined.
• Recent Trend(2) : **
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : *
• Rate : *
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : *

Russell County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index cannot be determined.
• Recent Trend(2) : **
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : *
• Rate : *
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : *

St. Clair County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index cannot be determined.
• Recent Trend(2) : **
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : *
• Rate : *
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : *

Sumter County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index cannot be determined.
• Recent Trend(2) : **
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : *
• Rate : *
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : *

Tallapoosa County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index cannot be determined.
• Recent Trend(2) : **
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : *
• Rate : *
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : *

Washington County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index cannot be determined.
• Recent Trend(2) : **
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : *
• Rate : *
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : *

Wilcox County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index cannot be determined.
• Recent Trend(2) : **
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : *
• Rate : *
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : *

Winston County

• Priority Index(1) : The priority index cannot be determined.
• Recent Trend(2) : **
• County Death Rate Compared to US Rate : *
• Rate : *
• Rate Ratio(3) County to US : *

Notes:
Created by statecancerprofiles.cancer.gov on 04/24/2025 2:08 am.


* Data has been suppressed to ensure confidentiality and stability of rate and trend estimates.
** Data are too sparse to provide stable estimates of annual rates needed to calculate trend.
¹ Priority indices were created by ordering from rates that are rising and above the comparison rate to rates that are falling and below the comparison rate.
² Recent trend in death rates is usually an Average Annual Percent Change (AAPC) based on the APCs calculated by Joinpoint Version 5.3.0. Due to data availability issues, the time period and/or calculation method used in the calculation of the trends may differ for selected geographic areas.
³ Rate ratio is the county rate divided by the US rate. Previous versions of this table used one-year rates for states and five-year rates for counties. As of June 2018, only five-year rates are used.
Source: Death data provided by the National Vital Statistics System public use data file. Death rates calculated by the National Cancer Institute using SEER*Stat. Death rates are age-adjusted to the 2000 US standard population (19 age groups: <1, 1-4, 5-9, ... , 80-84, 85+). The Healthy People 2020 goals are based on rates adjusted using different methods but the differences should be minimal. Population counts for denominators are based on Census populations as modified by NCI. The US Population Data File is used with mortality data.
Note: When the population size for a denominator is small, the rates may be unstable. A rate is unstable when a small change in the numerator (e.g., only one or two additional cases) has a dramatic effect on the calculated rate. Suppression is used to avoid misinterpretation when rates are unstable.

State Cancer Registries may provide more current or more local data. Data presented on the State Cancer Profiles Web Site may differ from statistics reported by the State Cancer Registries (for more information).

Data for the following has been suppressed to ensure confidentiality and stability of rate and trend estimates:
Barbour County, Bibb County, Bullock County, Butler County, Chambers County, Cherokee County, Chilton County, Choctaw County, Clarke County, Clay County, Cleburne County, Coffee County, Colbert County, Conecuh County, Coosa County, Covington County, Crenshaw County, Dale County, Dallas County, Escambia County, Fayette County, Franklin County, Geneva County, Greene County, Hale County, Henry County, Lamar County, Lawrence County, Lowndes County, Macon County, Marengo County, Marion County, Monroe County, Perry County, Pickens County, Pike County, Randolph County, Russell County, St. Clair County, Sumter County, Tallapoosa County, Washington County, Wilcox County, Winston County

Trend for the following could not be reliably determined due to small number of deaths per year:
Autauga County, Blount County, Cullman County, DeKalb County, Elmore County, Etowah County, Houston County, Jackson County, Lauderdale County, Lee County, Limestone County, Marshall County, Morgan County, Shelby County, Walker County


Interpret Rankings provides insight into interpreting cancer statistics. When the population size for a denominator is small, the rates may be unstable. A rate is unstable when a small change in the numerator (e.g., only one or two additional cases) has a dramatic effect on the calculated rate.

Data for United States does not include Puerto Rico.