Cancer in the Minnesota Hmong population.
BACKGROUND
The Hmong are an isolated, agrarian people who settled in the mountainous regions of what today are Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. After the Vietnam War, many Hmong were relocated to the U.S. Minnesota has the second largest population (after California) of Hmong individuals. The objective of this study was to examine cancer incidence in this population, because it may indicate areas for targeted surveillance and intervention.


METHODS
The Minnesota Cancer Surveillance System database was screened for Hmong surnames, and proportional incidence ratios (PIRs) were calculated for the period 1988-1999.


RESULTS
Compared with all Minnesotans, the Hmong population had increased PIRs for nasopharyngeal cancer (PIR, 39.39; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 21.01-66.86), gastric cancer (PIR, 8.70; 95% CI, 5.39-13.25), hepatic cancer (PIR, 8.08; 95% CI, 3.88-14.71), and cervical cancer (PIR, 3.72; 95% CI, 2.04-6.20) and had decreased PIRs for prostate cancer, breast cancer, Hodgkin disease, and melanoma.


CONCLUSIONS
The current observations have implications for cancer control interventions. In particular, an increased incidence of cervical cancer might be addressed in part by targeting culturally sensitive screening programs in the Hmong population.
Ross
Julie A
JA
Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, Minnesota 5455, USA. ross@epi.umn.edu
Xie
Yang
Y
Kiffmeyer
William R
WR
Bushhouse
Sally
S
Robison
Leslie L
LL
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002681:China / Q000208:ethnology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008910:Minnesota / Q000453:epidemiology; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology*