VDH: Scott County “cancer cluster” study info now being evaluated

The Virginia Department of Health announced Wednesday that it is evaluating pediatric cancer data information from Scott County, Virginia and expects to have results by the end of the year. A press release from the department said its Virginia Cancer Registry was going over the data collected by the Health District. An investigation into the possible cancer cluster started after a group of people in Scott County contacted the Virginia Cancer Registry. Residents were concerned about the number of children with cancer in the area. Patients who were surveyed had to be 19 years old or younger, diagnosed with any form of cancer between 2015 and 2023 and had to live in Scott County before they were diagnosed. The health department defines a cancer cluster as “a greater than expected number of the same or related cancer cases that occur within a group of people in a geographic area over a specific period of time.”