Figure 15. Residence at Diagnosis: Pancreatic Cancer Cases Studied Using Arbitrary Boundaries Within Ashe and Alleghany Counties, North Carolina

Semi-arbitrary subdivision of a set area, such as a county, into smaller areas can assist in more closely examining disease patterns. In this map, a two-county region has been subdivided into synthetic regions based on general knowledge of the area to identify areas of higher and lower incidence of pancreatic cancer. This is done with no prior knowledge of cancer case locations.

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