Wide variation in cancer rates among Asian Americans, Native Americans, Pacific Islanders

Abstract

Cancer is the leading cause of death for Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (AANHPIs) even though overall cancer mortality and incidence rates in this population are 30% to 40% lower than those for non-Hispanic whites (NHWs), according to a new report from the American Cancer Society (ACS). At the same time, stomach and liver cancer rates in AANHPIs are double those in NHWs, notes the report, which appears in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians and as the special section in Cancer Facts & Figures 2016.1, 2 The report estimates that there will be 57,740 new cancer cases and 16,910 cancer deaths among AANHPIs in 2016. Among AANHPI males, the 3 leading causes of cancer death are lung cancer (27%), liver cancer (14%), and colon/rectum cancer (11%). Among women, they are lung cancer (21%), breast cancer (14%), and colon/rectum cancer (11%). According to the report, the term “Asian” refers to people with origins in the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent. Included in that group are Asian Indians, Cambodians, Chinese, Filipinos, Hmong, Japanese, Koreans, Pakistanis, and Vietnamese. Asian Americans represented 6.3% of the total US population in 2014 and are the fastest growing racial/ethnic group in the country. Lindsey Torre, MSPH, of the American Cancer Society surveillance research group and coauthor of the report, notes that cancer control strategies in this population include improved use of vaccination and screening; interventions to increase physical activity and reduce body weight, tobacco use, and alcohol consumption; and research to gain a better understanding of differences in risk factors between subgroups.