Cancer incidence among Arab Americans in California, Detroit, and New Jersey SEER registries.
OBJECTIVE
We calculated cancer incidence for Arab Americans in California; Detroit, Michigan; and New Jersey, and compared rates with non-Hispanic, non-Arab Whites (NHNAWs); Blacks; and Hispanics.


METHODS
We conducted a study using population-based data. We linked new cancers diagnosed in 2000 from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program (SEER) to an Arab surname database. We used standard SEER definitions and methodology for calculating rates. Population estimates were extracted from the 2000 US Census. We calculated incidence and rate ratios.


RESULTS
Arab American men and women had similar incidence rates across the 3 geographic regions, and the rates were comparable to NHNAWs. However, the thyroid cancer rate was elevated among Arab American women compared with NHNAWs, Hispanics, and Blacks. For all sites combined, for prostate and lung cancer, Arab American men had a lower incidence than Blacks and higher incidence than Hispanics in all 3 geographic regions. Arab American male bladder cancer incidence was higher than that in Hispanics and Blacks in these regions.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results suggested that further research would benefit from the federal recognition of Arab Americans as a specified ethnicity to estimate and address the cancer burden in this growing segment of the population.
Rachel Bergmans is with the Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor. Amr S. Soliman is with the Department of Epidemiology, University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Public Health, Omaha. Julie Ruterbusch is with the Department of Oncology, Wayne State School of Medicine, Detroit, MI. Rafael Meza and Kelly Hirko are with the Department of Epidemiology, University of Michigan School of Public Health. John Graff is with the New Jersey Registry, SEER Registry, Trenton. Kendra Schwartz is with Family Medicine and Public Health Sciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine.
Rachel
R
Bergmans
Amr S
AS
Soliman
Julie
J
Ruterbusch
Rafael
R
Meza
Kelly
K
Hirko
John
J
Graff
Kendra
K
Schwartz
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D018912:Arabs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002140:California / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008824:Michigan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology; D009515:New Jersey / Q000453:epidemiology; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology; D018426:SEER Program / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D001749:Urinary Bladder Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult