In US Hispanics, cancer remains leading cause of death

the Oncology Nurse Advisor take:

Cancer remains the leading cause of death among Hispanics in the United States, according to an American Cancer Society report published in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.

In “Cancer Statistics for Hispanics/Latinos,” a comprehensive report published every 3 years, Rebecca Siegel, MPH, director of surveillance information for the American Cancer Society, and fellow researchers found that 125,900 new cancer cases and 37,800 cancer deaths are expected among Hispanics/Latinos living in the United States in 2015.

Cancer incidence rates are 20% lower and cancer death rates are 30% lower in Hispanics than in non-Hispanic whites due to a lower incidence rate of the four most common cancers (prostate, breast, lung, and colon). 

However, Hispanics are at a higher risk for cancers associated with infectious agents, such as cancers of the stomach, liver, and cervix.

Lung cancer was found to be the leading cause of cancer death among Hispanic men, accounting for about 17%, or 1 in 6 deaths. According to 2015 estimates, liver cancer is expected to surpass colorectal cancer as the second leading cause of death in this population.

In Hispanic women, the leading cause of cancer death is breast cancer at a 16% death rate, followed by lung and colorectal cancers. Lung cancer death rates were found to be 70% lower in Hispanic women compared to non-Hispanic white women due to a lower prevalence of smoking.

Cancer death rates are declining at a rate of 2.4% per year in men, as well as 0.5% per year in women.

“The growth in the population of US residents of Hispanic origin is now driven primarily by births, not immigration, which will probably change the future cancer risk profile of this group,” said Siegel.