Cancer among American-Samoans: site-specific incidence in California and Hawaii.
BACKGROUND
There is a paucity of data about cancer among American-Samoans, the largest Pacific Islander group after Hawaiians. This study provides the first data on the incidence and relative risk for all cancers among American-Samoans on the US mainland and in Hawaii.


METHODS
The University of Southern California Cancer Surveillance Program and the Hawaii Tumor Registry, two population-based cancer surveillance programmes, provided archival data on American-Samoans residing in Los Angeles Country. California and in Hawaii, respectively.


RESULTS
There were significant differences in the incidence and age-adjusted site-specific relative risk of cancers between American-Samoans, Hawaiians, and Anglos (non-Hispanic whites). In Hawaii, American-Samoans diagnosed with cancer compared with Hawaiians had a higher age-adjusted site-specific relative risk for cancers of the nasopharynx (especially males), liver, prostate, thyroid, and blood (especially females) and a lower relative risk for cancers of the colon, rectum (especially males), lung (especially females) and breast. Furthermore, compared with Anglos diagnosed with cancer in Hawaii, American-Samoans had a higher relative risk for cancers of the nasopharynx (especially males), stomach, liver, lung (especially males), corpus uteri, thyroid and blood, and a lower relative risk for cancers of the colon, skin, breast, testes, cervix uteri, bladder (especially males), and lymph nodes. A relatively similar profile of cancer distribution and relative risk was observed among American-Samoans and Anglos diagnosed with cancer in California.


CONCLUSIONS
The data provide baseline information which has important implications for future cancer control research and prevention in this population.
Mishra
S I
SI
Department of Medicine, University of California, Irvine 92717-5800, USA.
Luce-Aoelua
P
P
Wilkens
L R
LR
Bernstein
L
L
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D018948:American Samoa / Q000208:ethnology; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002140:California / Q000453:epidemiology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006254:Hawaii / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012306:Risk