MARINE CITY, Mich. — A Michigan congresswoman has asked the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to investigate cases of a rare cancer cropping up in St. Clair and Macomb counties.
U.S. Rep. Candice Miller said in a letter to the CDC's director for environmental health that an inordinate number of Wilms' tumor cases have been identified in the area over the past four years.
"These numbers are higher than one would expect for such a rare cancer that typically has an incidence of one every three to five years locally and 500 per year nationally," Miller wrote, according to the Detroit Free Press.
She asked that the CDC help the St. Clair County Health Department and state Department of Community Health in probing possible causes.
The Detroit News reported Wednesday that since late April, the St. Clair County Health Department has been collecting data in the hope of clarifying whether an environmental factor may be playing a role in the seven or eight cases.
Marine City has industrial plants and sits more than 10 miles down the St. Clair River from a number of petrochemical plants in Sarnia, Ontario.
There is no clear indication the Wilms' tumor cases are linked to an environmental or genetic factor, health officials said.
The Times Herald of Port Huron reported the health department will update the public on the investigation during a June 2 meeting in Marine City.
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