The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) told the commission on Dec. 13 that it will update cancer‑incidence analyses for Merrimack and surrounding towns and continue several related study components.

Leanne Atwell, DHHS, said Dartmouth’s cancer registry analysis — focused on kidney and renal pelvis cancers — is being finalized and the Dartmouth team can present findings to the commission at the Feb. 14 meeting if the commission requests. “The team is available to present the summary of the findings of that data analysis to this commission at the February meeting if that is of interest,” Atwell said.

Why it matters: The commission has sought fuller cancer‑incidence information for Merrimack and a nine‑town study area. Updating the cancer incidence report with data through 2021 and integrating additional sources would provide a more complete, recent picture for public health review.

Key points

- Expanded analysis: DHHS will update the previously published cancer incidence report (January 2023) with registry data through 2021 and expand analysis beyond kidney cancers to other cancer types for Merrimack and the nine‑town study area. DHHS said the registry data to be used cover 1995–2021.

- VA data and data quality: Atwell and Will Moyer (DHHS section chief for health statistics and data management) said VA cancer records recently received must be integrated and deduplicated into the registry; DHHS estimated that step could take about six months. “We have the data in hand, but it needs to be cleaned up and integrated into the dataset,” Atwell said. Moyer described standard methods used in cancer analyses, including calculating standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) to adjust for age and to compare expected and observed cases: “Often, we calculate what is called standardized incidence ratios, where it basically is a way to compare the number of expected cases you would see in an area if it had the same age distribution as somewhere else.”

- Other study components: The UNH feasibility survey (a representative statewide survey with oversampling in the study area) has initial results expected in mid‑December; community engagement studios are complete and an online interest form remains open. DHHS said the pilot study design requires institutional review board (IRB) approval and that completing that step is a priority for early 2025.

Voices from the meeting

Atwell (DHHS) said DHHS “will be updating the cancer incident report … with the most recent registry data through 2021” and expects the expanded analysis to be completed in spring 2025. Will Moyer provided a plain‑language description of methods and said DHHS will produce SIRs and age‑adjusted comparisons with the rest of New Hampshire.

What remains open

DHHS estimated the VA data integration and deduplication process may delay inclusion of VA records by several months; Atwell said the registry is working on integration and that final results for the expanded analysis could be ready in spring 2025. The pilot study still requires IRB approval before fieldwork.

Ending note

DHHS offered to present Dartmouth’s kidney‑cancer analysis at a future commission meeting and said it will return with the updated cancer incidence results and any new findings once the registry data through 2021 (and integrated VA data, if available) are processed.