Journalism spotlight: Staten Island investigates its local cancer crisis
Staten Island has the highest overall cancer rate of New York City’s five boroughs, and no comprehensive study explains why. A new investigative series is asking the question.
Why does Staten Island have the highest overall cancer rate of New York City’s five boroughs? Despite years of concern from residents, there is still no comprehensive study that explains why.
A new investigative series from the Staten Island Advance/SILive.com, “Cancer on Staten Island: The Search for Why,” is digging into that question, examining cancer data, public health research, and potential environmental factors while documenting the experiences of families affected by the disease.
Staten Island’s overall cancer rate is 513.3 cases per 100,000 people, approximately 21% higher than the New York City average. The investigation is examining longstanding questions surrounding air pollution, industrial activity, and the borough’s history with major landfills, including Fresh Kills. Researchers emphasize that cancer is complex and no comprehensive study has established why rates on Staten Island are elevated.
Communities such as Woburn, Massachusetts, and Toms River, New Jersey, remind us that concerns about unusual patterns of cancer deserve careful scientific investigation. In both communities, years of research, followed by years of documented concern from parents, ultimately confirmed higher-than-expected rates of childhood cancer and transformed how health investigations are conducted in the United States. Woburn’s story later inspired the bestselling book and film, A Civil Action, underscoring the powerful role investigative journalism can play in bringing public attention to complex health questions.
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This update first appeared in the End Chronic Disease newsletter on August 4, 2026. Chart: New York State Cancer Registry, 2019–2023, as reported by the Staten Island Advance; the New York City average is approximate, calculated from the reported 21% difference.
