The Burden of Cancer in Asian Americans: A Report of National Mortality Trends by Asian Ethnicity.
Asian Americans (AA) are the fastest growing U.S. population, and when properly distinguished by their ethnic origins, exhibit substantial heterogeneity in socioeconomic status, health behaviors, and health outcomes. Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States, yet trends and current patterns in the mortality burden of cancer among AA ethnic groups have not been documented.



We report age-adjusted rates, standardized mortality ratios, and modeled trends in cancer-related mortality in the following AA ethnicities: Asian Indians, Chinese, Filipinos, Japanese, Koreans, and Vietnamese, from 2003 to 2011, with non-Hispanic whites (NHW) as the reference population.



For most cancer sites, AAs had lower cancer mortality than NHWs; however, mortality patterns were heterogeneous across AA ethnicities. Stomach and liver cancer mortality was very high, particularly among Chinese, Koreans, and Vietnamese, for whom these two cancer types combined accounted for 15% to 25% of cancer deaths, but less than 5% of cancer deaths in NHWs. In AA women, lung cancer was a leading cause of death, but (unlike males and NHW females) rates did not decline over the study period.



Ethnicity-specific analyses are critical to understanding the national burden of cancer among the heterogeneous AA population.



Our findings highlight the need for disaggregated reporting of cancer statistics in AAs and warrant consideration of tailored screening programs for liver and gastric cancers. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 25(10); 1371-82. ©2016 AACR.
Graduate School of Public Health, San Diego State University, San Diego, California. Palo Alto Medical Foundation Research Institute, Palo Alto, California.
Caroline A
CA
Thompson
Cancer Prevention Institute of California, Fremont, California. Department of Health Research and Policy, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California. Stanford Comprehensive Cancer Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California.
Scarlett Lin
SL
Gomez
Division of General Medical Disciplines, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California.
Katherine G
KG
Hastings
Quantitative Sciences Unit, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California.
Kristopher
K
Kapphahn
Palo Alto Foundation Medical Group, Palo Alto Medical Foundation, Palo Alto, California.
Peter
P
Yu
Cancer Prevention Institute of California, Fremont, California. Department of Health Research and Policy, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California. Stanford Comprehensive Cancer Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California.
Salma
S
Shariff-Marco
Department of Medicine and Department of Genetics, Stanford University, Stanford, California. Center for Innovation in Global Health, Stanford University, Stanford, California.
Ami S
AS
Bhatt
Stanford Comprehensive Cancer Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California. Division of Oncology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California.
Heather A
HA
Wakelee
Division of Oncology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California. VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, California.
Manali I
MI
Patel
Division of General Medical Disciplines, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California. Stanford Center for Population Health Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California.
Mark R
MR
Cullen
Division of General Medical Disciplines, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California. lathap@stanford.edu.
Latha P
LP
Palaniappan
D001213:Asian / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017281:Cost of Illness; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology*; D017678:Sex Distribution; D014481:United States
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