Grant: Doctoral Award - Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarships

Problem: Stomach cancer is the fifth most commonly diagnosed cancer world-wide and the third most common causing death. While declining in Canada and the United States, the burden is not shared equally. Arctic and Indigenous populations have been shown to have elevated rates of stomach cancer but up-to-date rates across the Arctic and among Indigenous People in Canada are incompletely described and differences with national and non-Indigenous counterparts have not been thoroughly examined. This gap is a significant barrier to evidence-based decision making. Vision: There is an urgent need to examine stomach cancer trends in Canada's Arctic and among Indigenous Peoples in Canada to understand geographic patterns, identify potential causes and inform cancer control priorities. Using this data, we can reverse the evidence-deficit, eliminate disparities, and create a more inclusive and forward-looking evidence-based system for all Canadians. Aims: I plan to calculate and compare rates of new cases, mortality, and survival for stomach cancer among Arctic populations to southern provincial and national comparators, and Indigenous rates to non-Indigenous counterparts using data from population-based cancer registries. Significance: Despite a universal healthcare system in Canada, Arctic populations and Indigenous Peoples are at a disadvantage. Cancer-specific information is limited for Arctic and Indigenous populations and this gap is a significant barrier to evidence-based decision making. This is the first Pan-Arctic cancer-focused analysis. This project is supported by a network of Arctic Territorial and State, Provincial and Indigenous health authorities enabling a statistically and culturally meaningful examination of trends to address regional cancer control priorities and eliminate disparities. Further, this project has the potential to be applied to Arctic regions globally.