The occurrence of bone and joint cancers and their association with rural living and radon exposure in Iowa

Primary bone and joint cancers are rare and understudied, yet these neoplasms are difficult to treat and impact all age groups. To explore the long-term changes in the occurrence of bone and joint cancers, patients diagnosed with these neoplasms between 1975 and 2016 were identified in the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results of the National Cancer Institute of the USA. The age-adjusted incidence (AAIR) and mortality (AAMR) rates were calculated for three decades and compared to AAIR and AAMR in years 1975–1984. By using the population-based cancer registries of the USA, Iowa was identified as a state with increased cases of bone and joint malignancies. The bone and joint cancer cases in Iowa were correlated with the percentage of rural population, the average farmland size, or the residential radon levels. Results demonstrated that the mean AAIR of bone and joint cancers for US female and male patients (< 50 years of age) increased from 0.57 (95% C.I. 0.55–0.63) and 0.76 (95% C.I. 0.69–0.82) for years 1975–1984 to 0.71 (95% C.I. 0.66–0.76) and 0.94 (95% C.I. 0.87–1.07) for years 2005–2014, respectively. The increase in bone and joint cancer cases in Iowa positively correlated with the percentage rural population (R = 0.222, P < 0.02), and the average farmland size (R = 0.236, P < 0.02) but not the radon levels (R = − 0.038, P < 0.7). The findings revealed that patients younger than 50 years of age and those who resided in rural areas and engaged in farming were more likely to be diagnosed with primary bone and joint cancers. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10653-022-01261-5.