title: Liver and Other Gastrointestinal Cancers Are Frequent in Mexican Americans.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Disease patterns in Mexican American health-disparity populations differ from larger US populations.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study is aimed to determine frequency of gastrointestinal cancers in Mexican Americans.
  
  
  METHODS
  We analyzed self-reported data from the Cameron County Hispanic Cohort where we find high rates of risk factors for cancer: obesity (48.5 %) and diabetes (30.7 %). Participants provided cancer histories about themselves and first- and second-degree relatives. Logistic regression models assessed risk factors. Frequencies of cancer sites were ranked and validated using concurrent age local cancer registry data.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among 9,249 individuals (participants and their relatives), there were 1,184 individuals with reports of cancer. Among cohort participants under 70 years of age, the most significant risk factor for all-cause cancers was diabetes (OR 3.57, 95 % CI 1.32, 9.62). Participants with metabolic syndrome were significantly more likely to report cancer in relatives [1.73 (95 % CI 1.26, 2.37]. Among cancers in fathers, liver cancer was ranked third, stomach fourth, colorectal sixth, and pancreas tenth. In mothers, stomach was third, liver fourth, colorectal seventh, and pancreas eleventh. The unusual prominence of these cancers in Mexican Americans, including liver cancer, was supported by age-adjusted incidence in local registry data.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Gastrointestinal system cancers, particularly, liver cancer, in a Mexican American health disparity cohort and their relatives rank higher than in other ethnicities and are associated with high rates of diabetes and metabolic syndrome. Effective prevention of diabetes and low-tech, high-quality screening strategies for gastrointestinal cancers are needed in health disparity communities.
authors.affiliation: Division of Epidemiology, Human Genetics and Environmental Science, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Public Health, Brownsville Campus, 80 Fort Brown, Brownsville, TX, 78520, USA.
authors.forename: Ariana L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Garza
authors.affiliation: Division of Epidemiology, Human Genetics and Environmental Science, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Public Health, Brownsville Campus, 80 Fort Brown, Brownsville, TX, 78520, USA.
authors.forename: Kristina P
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Vatcheva
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Jen-Jung
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.affiliation: Division of Epidemiology, Human Genetics and Environmental Sciences, and Center for Clinical and Translational Sciences, Medical School, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Public Health, Room 1100, 25 UT Professional Building, 6410 Fannin Street, Houston, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Mohammad H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Rahbar
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Michael B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Fallon
authors.affiliation: Division of Epidemiology, Human Genetics and Environmental Science, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Public Health, Brownsville Campus, 80 Fort Brown, Brownsville, TX, 78520, USA.
authors.forename: Joseph B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: McCormick
authors.affiliation: Division of Epidemiology, Human Genetics and Environmental Science, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Public Health, Brownsville Campus, 80 Fort Brown, Brownsville, TX, 78520, USA. susan.p.fisher-hoch@uth.tmc.edu.
authors.forename: Susan P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Fisher-Hoch
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000208:ethnology; D005260:Female; D005770:Gastrointestinal Neoplasms / Q000208:ethnology*; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000208:ethnology*; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000208:ethnology; D017058:Mexican Americans / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012042:Registries; D012307:Risk Factors; D057566:Self Report; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: Diabetes; Gastrointestinal cancer; Liver; Mexican Americans