Cancer and Asian Americans

Cancer

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Infant Health & Mortality

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

From 2012-2016, Asian/Pacific Islander men were 50 percent less likely to have prostate cancer, as compared to non-Hispanic white men, but they are twice as likely to have stomach cancer.
Although Asian/Pacific Islander women are 30 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 2.8 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, 2018
Cancer	Asian American	Non-Hispanic White	Asian American/ Non-Hispanic White Ratio
All Sites	3.9	9.9	0.4
Breast	1.1	3.3	0.3
Cervical	0.1	1.1	0.1
Prostate	1.7	2.1	0.8

Source: CDC, 2020. Summary Health Statistics: National Health Interview Survey: 2018. Table A-3a.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis/shs/tables.htm

Top Cancer Sites for Asian Americans (2012-2016)

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	301.1	505.5	0.6
Colon & Rectum	37.9	44.1	0.8
Liver & IBD	19.9	10.8	1.8
Lung	46.3	67.5	0.7
Pancreas	10.8	15.1	0.7
Prostate	55.6	104.5	0.5
Stomach	14.3	8.2	1.7

Source: NCI 2020. Seer Cancer Statistics Review, 1975-2016. Tables 2.15 through 24.15
https://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2016/sections.html

Top Cancer Sites for Asian Americans (2012-2016)

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	299.7	448.0	0.7
Breast	100.0	136.6	0.7
Cervical	6.4	6.6	1.0
Colon & Rectum	26.9	34.3	0.8
Liver & IBD	7.4	3.7	2.0
Lung	28.2	56.0	0.5
Pancreas	9.1	11.5	0.8
Stomach	8.2	3.8	2.2
Uterus	20.8	28.5	0.7

Source: NCI 2020. Seer Cancer Statistics Review, 1975-2016. Tables 2.15 through 24.15
https://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2016/sections.html

5 Year Survival Rate

Not available at this time.

Death Rate

Cancer Death Rates per 100,000 – Men (2012-2016)
Cancer	Asian/Pacific Islander Men	Non-Hispanic White Men	Asian/Pacific Islander/ Non-Hispanic White Ratio
All Sites	118.6	197.3	0.6
Colon & Rectum	11.6	16.6	0.7
Liver & IBD	13.8	8.3	1.7
Lung	30.2	54.1	0.6
Pancreas	8.2	12.9	0.6
Prostate	8.6	18.1	0.5
Stomach	6.8	3.3	2.1

Source: NCI 2020. Seer Cancer Statistics Review, 1975-2016. Table 1.20
https://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2016/sections.html

Cancer Death Rates per 100,000 – Women (2012-2016)
Cancer	Asian/Pacific Islander Women	Non-Hispanic White Women	Asian/Pacific Islander/ Non-Hispanic White Ratio
All Sites	86.6	141.9	0.6
Breast	11.2	20.6	0.5
Cervical	1.7	2.1	0.8
Colon & Rectum	8.4	11.9	0.7
Liver & IBD	5.8	3.4	1.7
Pancreas	7.1	9.5	0.7
Stomach	4.2	1.7	2.8
Uterus	3.1	4.4	0.7

Source: NCI 2020. Seer Cancer Statistics Review, 1975-2016. Table 1.20
https://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2016/sections.html

Screening

Breast Cancer

Percentage of women age 40 and over who had a mammogram within the past 2 years, 2015 (crude)
Asian American Women	Non-Hispanic White Women	Asian American/ Non-Hispanic White Ratio
59.7	65.8	0.9

Source: CDC, 2019. Health United States, 2018. Table 33.
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus18.pdf [PDF | 1.56MB]

Cervical Cancer

Percentage of women age 18 and over who had a Pap smear within the past 3 years, 2015 (crude)
Asian American Women	Non-Hispanic White Women	Asian American/ Non-Hispanic White Ratio
64.9	68.4	1.0

Source: CDC, 2019. Health United States, 2018. Table 34.
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus18.pdf [PDF | 1.56MB]

Colon Cancer

Adults aged 50-75 who had any colorectal test or procedure, 2015
Asian American	Non-Hispanic White	Asian American/ Non-Hispanic White Ratio
52.7	65.4	0.8

Source: National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Reports. Data Query: Table 7_5_1_3_1.1 [Accessed 2/11/2020]
http://nhqrnet.ahrq.gov/inhqrdr/data/query

Last Modified: 2/28/2020 2:47:00 PM

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