Report: Cancer Now Leading Cause of Death in US Hispanics

Researchers from the American Cancer Society found that despite declining death rates, cancer has surpassed heart disease as the leading cause of death among Hispanics in the U.S.

In 2009, the most recent year for which actual data are available, 29,935 people of Hispanic origin in the U.S. died of cancer, compared to 29,611 deaths from heart disease. Among non-Hispanic whites and African Americans, heart disease remains the number one cause of death.

The figures were published in the journal CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, and its companion publication, Cancer Facts & Figures for Hispanics/Latinos, 2012-2014, which has been produced every three years since 2000.

Hispanics/Latinos are the largest and fastest growing major demographic group in the United States, accounting for 16.3 percent of the U.S. population in 2010.

According to the report, in 2012, an estimated 112,800 new cases of cancer will be diagnosed and 33,200 cancer deaths will occur among Hispanics.

Among U.S. Hispanics between 2000 and 2009, cancer incidence rates declined by 1.7 percent per year among men and 0.3 percent per year among women. That compares to declines of 1 percent and 0.2 percent among non-Hispanic men and women, respectively.

Cancer death rates among Hispanics declined by 2.3 percent per year in men and 1.4 percent per year in women during that same time period, compared with annual declines of 1.5 percent and 1.3 percent among non-Hispanic white men and women, respectively.

Hispanics have lower incidence and death rates than non-Hispanic whites for all cancers combined and for the breast, prostate, lung and colorectum. The risk of lung cancer is lower among Hispanics because they have historically been less likely to smoke cigarettes than non-Hispanic whites.

Hispanics have higher incidence and mortality rates for cancers of the stomach, liver, uterine cervix, and gallbladder, reflecting greater exposure to cancer-causing infectious agents, lower rates of screening for cervical cancer, and possibly genetic factors.

Incidence and death rates for cervical cancer are 50 percent to 70 percent higher in Hispanic women compared to non-Hispanic whites. Hispanics are also diagnosed at an advanced stage of disease more often than non-Hispanic whites for most cancer sites.

Researchers said much of the difference in the cancer burden among U.S. Hispanics results from their unique profile in terms of age distribution, socioeconomic status, and immigration history.

Just one in ten U.S. Hispanics is 55 years or older, the age group among whom the majority of cancers are diagnosed, compared with almost one in three non-Hispanics. In 2010, more than 25 percent of Hispanics lived in poverty and nearly 33 percent was uninsured, compared with 9.9 percent and 11.7 percent, respectively, of non-Hispanic whites.

Hispanics in the U.S. are an extremely diverse group and as a result, cancer patterns among Hispanic subpopulations vary substantially.

In Florida, the cancer death rate among Cuban men is double that of Mexican men. Cuban men are much more likely to smoke than Dominican men - 21 percent versus 6 percent, respectively - and obesity prevalence among Mexican and Puerto Rican men is double that among Dominican men.

There are also differences between Hispanic subgroups in screening utilization; Mexican women are less likely to have had a recent mammogram than Dominican women - 62 percent versus 78 percent, respectively.

Strategies for reducing cancer risk among Hispanics include increasing utilization of screening and available vaccines, as well as implementing effective interventions to reduce tobacco use, obesity, and alcohol consumption.

"There is substantial heterogeneity within the US Hispanic population, Rebecca Siegel, lead author of the report, said. "The most effective strategies for reducing the cancer burden in these underserved communities utilize tailored, culturally appropriate interventions, such as patient navigation, to increase access to medical services."