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Cancer and Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders

  • American Samoan women are twice as likely to be diagnosed with, and to die from, cervical cancer, as compared to non-Hispanic whites.
  • American Samoan men are eight times more likely to develop liver cancer, and Native Hawaiian men are 2.4 times more likely to be diagnosed with the same disease, as compared to non-Hispanic whites.
  • In Hawaii, from 2013-2015, Native Hawaiians had the highest mortality rate (404.8) for all types of cancer, as compared to whites (136.5) in the state.1
  • In the U.S. territory of Guam, from 2008-2012, the incidence rate was higher for all cancer types in the Micronesian population (414.7), as compared to other ethnic groups in Guam.2

* NOTE: This is the most recent national data which is available at this time. Additional data will be added as reports are issued from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Diagnosis

Age-adjusted percentages of cancer among persons 18 years of age and over, 2014
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander Non-Hispanic
White		 Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
/Non-Hispanic White Ratio
5.7 9.2 0.6

Source: CDC, 2017. Selected Health Conditions Among Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Adults: United States, 2014. Figure 2
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db277.pdf [PDF | 333KB]
Source: CDC 2017. Summary Health Statistics: National Health Interview Survey: 2014. Table A-3.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis/shs/tables.htm

 

Top Cancer Sites for Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders (1998-2002)

Cancer Incidence Rates per 100,000 - Men (1998-2002) *
Cancer Native Hawaiian Samoan Tongan Non-Hispanic
White (NHW)		 Native Hawaiian/
NHW Ratio		 Samoan/
NHW Ratio		 Tongan/NHW
Ratio
All Sites 531.6 566.7 428.8 587.0 0.9 1.0 0.7
Colorectal 65.7 43.1 -- 65.6 1.0 0.7 --
Liver & IBD* 16.3 54.5 -- 6.7 2.4 8.1 --
Lung 109.8 111.9 107.0 89.2 1.2 1.3 1.2
Prostate 119.7 144.1 85.0 170.0 0.7 0.8 0.1
Stomach 18.8 53.0 -- 9.9 1.9 5.4 --

 

Cancer Incidence Rates per 100,000 - Women (1998-2002) *
Cancer Native Hawaiian Samoan Tongan Non-Hispanic
White (NHW)		 Native Hawaiian/
NHW Ratio		 Samoan/
NHW Ratio		 Tongan/NHW
Ratio
All Sites 488.5 472.0 504.7 448.5 1.1 1.1 1.1
Breast 175.8 102.5 118.0 145.2 1.2 0.7 0.8
Cervical 12.3 18.1 -- 8.1 1.5 2.2 --
Colorectal 44.0 38.6 -- 47.6 0.9 0.8 --
Lung 69.7 56.9 -- 59.0 1.2 1.0 --
Stomach 14.5 -- -- 4.3 3.4 -- --

*IBD = Intrahepatic Bile Duct
Source:  NCI 2008. Cancer Incidence and Mortality Patterns among Specific Asian and Pacific Islander Populations in the U.S.
http://seer.cancer.gov/publications/apicancer/index.html

 

5 Year Survival Rate

National data not available at this time.

 

Death Rate

Cancer Death Rates per 100,000 - Men (1998-2002) *
Cancer Native Hawaiian Samoan Non-Hispanic
White (NHW)		 Native Hawaiian/
NHW Ratio		 Samoan/
NHW Ratio
All Sites 263.7 293.9 241.3 1.1 1.2
Liver & IBD* 11.8 32.9 6.1 1.9 5.4
Lung 87.7 74.0 72.2 1.2 1.0
Stomach 14.1 40.9 5.8 2.4 7.1

 

Cancer Death Rates per 100,000 - Women (1998-2002) *
Cancer Native Hawaiian Samoan Non-Hispanic
White (NHW)		 Native Hawaiian/
NHW Ratio		 Samoan/
NHW Ratio
All Sites 198.9 209.3 171.7 1.2 1.2
Breast 33.5 36.2 27.8 1.2 1.3
Cervical 5.2 -- 2.4 2.2 --
Liver & IBD 6.4 -- 2.7 2.4 --
Stomach 10.3 -- 2.8 3.3 --

*IBD = Intrahepatic Bile Duct


Source:  NCI 2008. Cancer Incidence and Mortality Patterns among Specific Asian and Pacific Islander Populations in the U.S.
http://seer.cancer.gov/publications/apicancer/index.html

1Source: Hawai’i Health Data Warehouse
http://hhdw.org/health-reports-data/category/cancer/mortality/  [Accessed 02/11/2020]

2Source: Guam Cancer Facts and Figures, 2008-2012. Table 10.
http://www.guamcrc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/GuamCancerFactsFigure2008%E2%80%942012.pdf [PDF | 11.2MB]

Last Modified: 2/28/2020 2:43:00 PM

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