Cancer and Asian Americans

Cancer

Chronic Liver Disease

Infant Health & Mortality

Mental and Behavioral Health

Obesity

Organ and Tissue Donation

Stroke

Asian Americans generally have lower cancer rates than the non-Hispanic white population. However, disparities still exist in certain types of cancer.

From 2014-2018, Asian/Pacific Islander men were 50 percent less likely to have prostate cancer, as compared to non-Hispanic white men, but they were 70 percent more likely to have stomach cancer.
Although Asian/Pacific Islander women are 20 percent less likely to have breast cancer than non-Hispanic white women, they are twice as likely to have stomach cancer.
Both Asian/Pacific Islander men and women have almost twice the incidence of liver & IBD* cancer, as compared to the non-Hispanic white population.
Asian/Pacific Islander men are twice as likely to die from stomach cancer as compared to non-Hispanic white men, and Asian/Pacific Islander women are 2.5 times as likely to die from the same disease, as compared to non-Hispanic white women.

Diagnosis

Age-adjusted percentages of cancer among adults aged 18 and over, 2019
Cancer	Asian	Non-Hispanic White	Asian / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
All Sites	2.5	12.4	0.2
Breast (women)	1.1	2.0	0.6
Cervical (women)	0.3	1.4	0.2
Prostate (men)	0.8	2.8	0.3

Source: NCHS 2021. National Health Interview Survey. Interactive Summary Health Statistics for Adults – 2019. [Accessed 7/22/2021]
https://wwwn.cdc.gov/NHISDataQueryTool/SHS_adult/index.html

Top Cancer Sites for American Asians (2014-2018)

Cancer Incidence Rates per 100,000 – Men
Cancer	Asian/Pacific Islander Men	Non-Hispanic White Men	Asian/Pacific Islander / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
All Sites	309.1	520.4	0.6
Colon & Rectum	37.1	42.2	0.9
Liver & IBD	19.4	11.3	1.7
Lung	45.0	60.7	0.7
Pancreas	10.9	16.3	0.7
Prostate	57.7	118.9	0.5
Stomach	13.4	7.7	1.7

*IBD = Intrahepatic Bile Duct

Source: NCI 2021. Seer Cancer Statistics Review, 1975-2018. Table 1.24 and SEER*Explorer [ Accessed 7/22/2021].
https://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2018/; https://seer.cancer.gov/explorer/

Top Cancer Sites for Asians (2014-2018)

Cancer Incidence Rates per 100,000 – Women
Cancer	Asian/Pacific Islander Women	Non-Hispanic White Women	Asian/Pacific Islander / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
All Sites	311.5	460.2	0.7
Breast	105.1	137.9	0.8
Cervical	6.4	6.7	1.0
Colon & Rectum	26.5	32.7	0.8
Liver & IBD	7.1	4.0	1.8
Lung	28.7	53.9	0.5
Pancreas	9.3	11.9	0.8
Stomach	7.6	3.8	2.0
Uterus	22.3	28.7	0.8

Source: NCI 2021. Seer Cancer Statistics Review, 1975-2018. Table 1.25 and SEER*Explorer [ Accessed 7/22/2021].
https://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2018/; https://seer.cancer.gov/explorer/

5 Year Survival Rate

Not available at this time.

Death Rate

Cancer Death Rates per 100,000 – Men (2014-2018)
Cancer	Asian/Pacific Islander Men	Non-Hispanic White Men	Asian/Pacific Islander / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
All Sites	114.6	190.2	0.6
Colon & Rectum	11.2	16.1	0.7
Liver & IBD	13.1	8.4	1.6
Lung	28.0	49.4	0.6
Pancreas	8.1	13.0	0.6
Prostate	8.8	17.9	0.5
Stomach	6.3	3.1	2.0

Source: NCI 2021. Seer Cancer Statistics Review, 1975-2018. Table 1.20
https://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2018/sections.html

Cancer Death Rates per 100,000 – Women (2014-2018)
Cancer	Asian/Pacific Islander Women	Non-Hispanic White Women	Asian/Pacific Islander / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
All Sites	84.6	137.8	0.6
Breast	11.7	20.1	0.6
Cervical	1.7	2.0	0.9
Colon & Rectum	7.9	11.5	0.7
Liver & IBD	5.4	3.6	1.5
Pancreas	7.1	9.6	0.7
Stomach	4.0	1.6	2.5
Uterus	3.2	4.5	0.7

Source: NCI 2021. Seer Cancer Statistics Review, 1975-2018. Table 1.20
https://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2018/sections.html

Screening

Breast Cancer

Percentage of women age 40 and over who had a mammogram within the past 2 years, 2018 (crude)
Asian Women	Non-Hispanic White Women	Asian / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
57.8	68.0	0.9

Source: CDC 2021. Health United States, 2019. Table 33.
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus19-508.pdf [PDF 3.02MB]

Cervical Cancer

Percentage of women age 18 and over who had a Pap smear within the past 3 years, 2018 (crude)
Asian Women	Non-Hispanic White Women	Asian / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
62.8	63.7	1.0

Source: CDC 2021. Health United States, 2019. Table 34.
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus19-508.pdf [PDF 3.02MB]

Colon Cancer

Adults aged 50-75 who had any colorectal test or procedure, 2018
Asian	Non-Hispanic White Women	Asian / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
48.3	64.0	0.8