Iowa Cancer Diagnoses Rise as Neighbors Hold Steady

A study comparing Iowa with seven surrounding states finds the state's new cancer diagnosis rates climbing while regional rates stay stable.

Updated on Nov. 9, 2026 in Cancer

Wide flat Iowa farmland under a pale overcast sky, with a single line of bare winter trees along a field edge. — American Cancer Society researchers found Iowa's new cancer diagnosis rates rising from 2001 to 2022, while seven neighboring states held steady. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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American Cancer Society researchers report that Iowa is one of three states where new cancer diagnosis rates are rising, while its seven neighboring states remained stable from 2001 to 2022. By 2022, new diagnoses in Iowa ran 11% higher in men and 6% higher in women than in surrounding states.

Why it matters

The findings suggest Iowa's excess cancer burden is not simply a regional constant, and the divergence in early-stage diagnoses after the state's 2014 Medicaid expansion raises questions about screening access. Roughly three-fourths of the excess burden can be explained by known risk factors such as smoking, drinking and obesity.

Prostate cancer accounted for 43.5% of the male diagnosis gap and breast and lung cancers accounted for 57.8% of the female gap between Iowa and other states from 2013 to 2022. Roughly one-fourth of Iowa's excess cancer burden remains unexplained by known risk factors.

The players

American Cancer Society

A national nonprofit that conducts cancer research, epidemiological studies and public health advocacy across the United States.

The details

Researchers compared cancer diagnosis and mortality rates between Iowa and seven surrounding states, including Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, Kansas and Wisconsin. Male colorectal cancer mortality in Iowa was 20% higher and female lung cancer mortality 8% higher than in surrounding states by 2022.

2001 to 2022: The study period comparing Iowa with surrounding states.
2005 to 2022: Iowa's female diagnosis rate rose 0.6% annually.
2013 to 2022: Iowa's male diagnosis rate rose 0.6% annually and male mortality declined more slowly.
2014: Iowa expanded Medicaid, after which early-stage diagnoses diverged from non-expansion states.
Tuesday, November 3, 2026: Iowa researchers published the study.

Health Landscape

The study's timing with Iowa's 2014 Medicaid expansion links the divergence in early-stage diagnoses to a major coverage policy change. It offers a state-level test of how insurance access may shape cancer detection patterns across the Midwest.

Iowa residents may want to discuss age-appropriate screenings for prostate, breast, lung and colorectal cancers with their clinicians, since these cancers drove most of the state's excess burden. Known modifiable risks such as smoking, alcohol use and obesity account for roughly three-fourths of the gap.

The takeaway

Most of Iowa's excess cancer burden tracks risks people can influence, including tobacco use, drinking and weight. Screening and prevention choices made now could help narrow the gap with neighboring states.