Louisiana Tumor Registry

Louisiana Tumor Registry (LTR) program is a statewide population-based cancer registry. The LTR received one of the original CDC Tumor Registry Enhancement grants 1974, and it was designated as a National Cancer Institute SEER registry in 2000. The annual extramural funding for the registry is over $2 million with an additional $1 million from the State of Louisiana. The goals of the Registry are to:

  • assess the magnitude of cancer burden in the state
  • identify high risk groups and geographic areas so that cancer control activities can be targeted
  • monitor trends in cancer over time to detect unusual patterns
  • serve as a database for planning and setting priorities for cancer prevention programs
  • evaluate the effectiveness of cancer control programs
  • generate hypotheses and direct cancer research areas
  • serve as a resource for special studies

To accomplish these goals, the Registry publishes cancer statistics in the Cancer in Louisiana monograph series on a regular basis. In addition, its data are included in the United States Cancer StatisticsCancer in North America publications as well as Cancer Incidence in Five Continents, published by the International Agency for Cancer Research, WHO.

Cancer Control

Three Cancer Information, Detection and Control Initiatives are administered on a statewide basis by the School of Public Health, Epidemiology, Health Promotion and Disease Prevention:

The Louisiana Cancer Information Service (CIS), part of the Mid-South Cancer Information Services and funded by the National Cancer Institute, provides cancer resources, data and information to underserved populations and non-profit groups.

The Louisiana Breast and Cervical Health Program (LBCHP), funded by and part of the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), provides access to lifesaving services for early detection of breast and cervical cancers to low-income, uninsured, and underserved women in Louisiana. 

Epidemiology Research

In addition to the programs described above and instruction in the MPH program in Epidemiology, the faculty at the Epidemiology Program conducts a number of important research studies, descriptive epidemiology and analytic epidemiology, funded by the Federal and state government, the university, and foundations:

  • Neighborhood Environment and Alcohol Health Disparities
  • College Alcohol Environmental and College Drinking
  • Ecological Modeling of College Drinking
  • Changes in Alcohol Availability and HIV Rates
  • Exploration of Obesity Risk for Cancer Prevention
  • North Carolina – Louisiana Prostate Cancer Project
  • Pancreatic cancer in Acadians: Gene-environment interaction
  • Biomarkers of Heavy Metal Exposure Related to Pancreatic Cancer Genetic Mutations
  • Prostate Cancer Outcomes Post Environmental Disaster (P-COPED)
  • Environmental Determinants of Physical Activity in Parks
  • Chemoprevention of Gastric Dysplasia – Long Term Follow-up
  • Chemoprevention of Gastric Dysplasia
  • Patterns of Care Studies
  • Lower Mississippi River Interagency Cancer Study (LMRICS)
  • MORE!