United States: According to recent exploration, the cancer death rate among Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders is two to three times lesser than that of White people. The American Cancer Society(ACS) released a first- of- its- kind analysis on May 1 that’s simply concentrated on the cancer threat of Americans who have ancestors from Pacific Rim regions.
Elevated Cancer Death Rates
After heart disease, cancer ranks as the second most common cause of death in the US overall. However, among the significant variances in cancer occurrence identified in the ACS study, cancer is the greatest cause of death for Americans of Chinese, Filipino, Korean, and Vietnamese origin.
The following was also discovered in the publication, Cancer Facts and Figures for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Other Pacific Islander People, 2024–2026. For men belonging to any ethnical group around the Pacific Rim, similar as Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and other Pacific Islanders, lung cancer is the primary cause of death.
For women who identify as Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Korean, or Native Hawaiian, lung cancer is the primary cause of cancer-related mortality. For Guamanian, Samoan, Filipino, and Asian Indian women, breast cancer is the primary cause of cancer-related deaths.
Despite having a 40% lower total cancer death rate than white people, Asian Americans die twice as often from stomach cancer and roughly 40% more often from liver cancer.
Factors Contributing to Variances in Cancer Risk
Principal scientist for cancer surveillance studies at the American Cancer Society (ACS) Nikita Wagle, main report author, stated that there are several causes for these variances in cancer risk.
According to Wagle’s statement in an ACS news release, “These populations, specifically Asian Americans, consist of many ethnic groups that are diverse in terms of immigration patterns, behavior, exposures in countries of origin, and social determinants of health.”
Because of health care inequities, “the use of screening and other preventative services varies between these groups,” according to Wagle.
For instance, compared to two out of every three white women and three out of every four Japanese women, only half of breast cancers are detected at an early stage in Guamanian, Samoan, Pakistani, Tongan, Laotian, and Hmong women.
The ACS researchers determined that this is probably because of limited access to care.
Impact on Cancer Detection and Treatment
Senior author Rebecca Siegel, senior scientific director of surveillance research at the American Cancer Society, stated, “We hope that these startling disparities will spur local communities and health care providers to increase awareness of cancer symptoms and opportunities for cancer prevention and early detection through screening.”
We must recognize the variety of the NHPI and Asian American communities. According to Dr. Ahmedin Jemal, senior vice president of surveillance and health equity science at the ACS, “consideration of cultural appropriateness, translation into native languages, improved access to healthcare, and patient navigation could help increase knowledge and uptake of cancer screening and preventive services.”
In order to better understand the cancer burden and contribute to lifesaving efforts, Jemal continued, “more research is also needed among the ethnic groups of this highly diverse population.”