Cancer and Hispanic/Latino Americans

Hispanic/Latino American males and females generally have lower cancer rates than the total population. However, health gaps still exist within certain types of cancer.1

From 2019-2023, both Hispanic/Latino males and females died from stomach cancer at a rate that exceeded their peers from the total population by 54% and 85%, respectively.2

In 2022:

Hispanic/Latino males were 40% less frequently diagnosed with oral cavity and pharynx cancer than males from the total population.

Hispanic/Latino females had similar diagnosis rates for pancreatic cancer as the total female population.

Visit MedlinePlus for more health information about Cancer and Living with Cancer in Spanish.

Visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Cancer Institute for information about cancer screening.

Looking for curated searches on cancer within minority and tribal populations, including Hispanic/Latino populations, in the United States and its territories? Check out the OMH Knowledge Center Topic Guides.

Occurrence

Cancer among adults ages 18 and over, age-adjusted percentage, 2024
Cancer	Hispanic	Total Population	Ratio (Hispanic / Total)
All Sites	3.9	10.3	0.38
Breast	0.8	1.8	0.44
Cervical (Female)	0.4	0.7	0.57
Prostate (Males)	0.9	2.6	0.35
Any Skin	0.4	3.6	0.11

Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. (2025). Interactive summary health statistics for adults: Percentage of any type of cancer for adults aged 18 and over; United States, 2024; Percentage of breast cancer for adults aged 18 and over, United States, 2024; Percentage of cervical cancer for women aged 18 and over, United States, 2024. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Top Cancer Sites

Cancer incidence among males, delay-adjusted and age-adjusted rate per 100,000 population, 2022
Cancer	Hispanic Males	Total Population Males	Ratio (Hispanic / Total)
All Sites	392.7	500.3	0.78
Colon & Rectum (Including Appendix)	42.1	43.5	0.97
Esophagus	4.9	7.3	0.67
Kidney	25.6	23.6	1.08
Liver & Intrahepatic Bile Duct (IBD)	21.0	13.9	1.51
Lung	29.7	51.0	0.58
Oral Cavity & Pharynx	10.7	17.9	0.60
Pancreas	14.1	15.9	0.89
Prostate	102.4	133.6	0.77
Stomach	12.4	9.6	1.29

Source: National Institues of Health, National Cancer Institute. (2025). SEER 5-year age-adjusted incidence rates, 2018-2022: All stages by cancer site and race/ethnicity, male, all ages. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Cancer incidence among females, delay-adjusted and age-adjusted rate per 100,000 population, 2022
Cancer	Hispanic Female	Total Population Female	Ratio (Hispanic / Total)
All Sites	389.5	441.7	0.88
Breast	114.1	136.5	0.84
Cervical	10.4	7.8	1.33
Colon & Rectum (Including Appendix)	31.7	34.0	0.93
Kidney	14.8	12.0	1.23
Liver & Intrahepatic Bile Duct (IBD)	10.0	5.8	1.72
Lung	24.2	43.7	0.55
Pancreas	12.8	12.7	1.01
Stomach	9.7	6.5	1.49
Uterus	30.0	29.2	1.03

Source: National Institues of Health, National Cancer Institute. (2025). SEER 5-year age-adjusted incidence rates, 2018-2022: All stages by cancer site and race/ethnicity, female, all ages. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Five-Year Survival Rates

5-year survival rate among males, percentage, 2015–2021
Cancer	Hispanic Males	Total Population Male	Ratio (Hispanic / Total)
All Sites	64.1	68.7	0.93
Colon & Rectum (Including Appendix)	62.8	64.5	0.97
Kidney	76.1	78.8	0.97
Liver & IBD	20.4	21.7	0.94
Lung	20.8	23.8	0.87
Pancreas	12.7	13.1	0.97
Prostate	94.2	97.9	0.96
Stomach	30.2	34.2	0.88

Source: National Institues of Health, National Cancer Institute. (2025). SEER 5-rear relative survival rates, 2015-2021: All stages by cancer site and race/ethnicity, male, all ages. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

5-year survival rate among females, percentage, 2015-2021
Cancer	Hispanic	Total Population	Ratio (Hispanic / Total)
All Sites	70.9	71.2	1.00
Breast	89.0	91.7	0.97
Cervical	70.5	68.0	1.04
Colon & Rectum (Including Appendix)	66.8	66.4	1.01
Kidney	82.3	81.4	1.01
Liver & IBD	21.9	22.8	0.96
Lung	32.7	32.6	1.00
Pancreas	16.0	13.5	1.19
Stomach	38.1	43.2	0.88
Uterus	80.5	81.1	0.99

Source: National Institues of Health, National Cancer Institute. (2025). SEER 5-year relative survival rates, 2015-2021: All stages by cancer site and race/ethnicity, female, all ages. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Mortality

5-year mortality among males, age-adjusted rate per 100,000 population, 2019–2023
Cancer	Hispanic Males	Total Population Males	Ratio (Hispanic / Total)
All Sites	124.4	171.5	0.73
Colon & Rectum (Including Appendix)	13.2	15.3	0.86
Liver & IBD	12.2	9.4	1.30
Lung	18.7	37.2	0.50
Pancreas	9.6	12.9	0.74
Prostate	15.4	19.2	0.80
Stomach	5.4	3.5	1.54

Source: National Institues of Health, National Cancer Institute. (2025). U.S. 5-year age-adjusted mortality rates, 2019-2023: By cancer site and race/ethnicity, male, all ages. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

5-year mortality among females, age-adjusted rate per 100,000 population, 2019–2023
Cancer	Hispanic Female	Total Population Female	Ratio (Hispanic / Total)
All Sites	93.2	126.3	0.74
Breast	13.6	19.2	0.71
Cervical	2.3	2.2	1.05
Colon & Rectum (Including Appendix)	8.6	10.8	0.80
Liver & IBD	6.1	4.3	1.42
Pancreas	8.2	9.9	0.83
Stomach	3.7	2.0	1.85
Uterus	4.5	5.3	0.85

Source: National Institues of Health, National Cancer Institute. (2025). U.S. 5-year age-adjusted mortality rates, 2019-2023: By cancer site and race/ethnicity, female, all ages. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Health Care Use

Females ages 40 and over who had a mammogram within the past 2 years, crude percentage, 2019
Hispanic Female	Total Population Female	Ratio (Hispanic / Total)
69.4	79.8	0.87

Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. (2023). Health, United States 2020-2021 (Table CanBrTest). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Females aged 21 to 65 years receiving a cervical cancer screening based on the most recent guidelines, percentage, 2021
Hispanic Female	Total Population Female	Ratio (Hispanic / Total)
67.4	73.9	0.91

Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. (2025). National Health Interview Survey, Healthy People 2030: Increase the proportion of females who get screened for cervical cancer in 2021. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Adults aged 45 to 75 years receiving a colorectal cancer screening based on the most recent guidelines, percentage, 2023
Hispanic	Total Population	Ratio (Hispanic / Total)
54.1	63.5	0.85

Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. (2025). National Health Interview Survey, Healthy People 2030: Adults receiving colorectal cancer screening based on the most recent guidelines, 2023. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

1 SEER*Explorer: An interactive website for SEER cancer statistics [Internet]. Surveillance Research Program, National Cancer Institute; 2025 Apr 16 [Accessed 6/24/2025]. https://seer.cancer.gov/statistics-network/explorer/ (Back to top)

2 SEER*Explorer: An interactive website for SEER cancer statistics [Internet]. Surveillance Research Program, National Cancer Institute; 2025 Apr 16 [Accessed 6/24/2025]. https://seer.cancer.gov/statistics-network/explorer/ (Back to top)

Date Last Reviewed: January 2026