Cancer in south Florida Hispanic women. A 9-year assessment.
BACKGROUND
Cancer incidence varies among race and ethnic subgroups. Relatively little information exists on cancer among Hispanics, and none of it it stratified by race.


METHODS
To explore and compare cancer incidence rates of each site of cancer among white Hispanic, white non-Hispanic, black Hispanic, and black non-Hispanic women in Dade County, South Florida, we accessed 9 years of cancer incidence data. Dade County's Hispanic population is the second largest of any US county. For each site, incidence rates, rate ratios, and 95% confidence intervals are presented.


RESULTS
Among white Hispanics, there were statistically significant lower rates of cancers of the oral cavity, esophagus, colon, pancreas, lung, breast, ovary, bladder, kidney, melanoma, Kaposi's sarcoma, and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma than among white non-Hispanics. Black Hispanics had significantly lower rates of cancers of the oral cavity, stomach, rectum, lung, cervix, and bladder than black non-Hispanics. However, white Hispanic women had significantly higher rates of cancers of the liver, gallbladder, and uterine cervix than white non-Hispanic women. No in situ breast cancer cases among blacks of either ethnic subgroup was found.


CONCLUSIONS
Both white Hispanic and black Hispanic women generally had lower rates of cancer than their race-specific non-Hispanic counterparts. However, incidence rates among Hispanics differ substantially by race; failure to distinguish them may lead to erroneous conclusions.
Trapido
E J
EJ
Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami School of Medicine, FL.
Chen
F
F
Davis
K
K
Lewis
N
N
MacKinnon
J A
JA
Strait
P M
PM
D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D005431:Florida / Q000453:epidemiology; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000208:ethnology*; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016387:Women's Health