Cancer mortality among Japanese residents of the city of São Paulo, Brazil

Abstract

Death certificates of Japanese residents of the city of São Paulo, Brazil from 1979 to 1981 were analyzed for cancer deaths by means of the standardized mortality ratio (SMR) and the standardized proportional mortality ratio (SPMR). Compared with residents of Japan, a significantly higher SMR value was obtained from Japan-born residents of São Paulo for prostate cancer, whereas lower values were obtained for cancer of the liver and gall-bladder in both sexes, of the esophagus and rectum in males, and of the lung in females. SMR values were higher for cancer of the stomach in both sexes but lower for those of the esophagus and prostate in males and of the gall-bladder and breast in females, when compared with the general population of São Paulo. Among Japan- and Brazil-born residents, stomach cancer in women revealed a significant stepwise decrease by generation when SPMR was used as an indicator. The high proportion of stomach cancer in males, however, was as high among the Brazil-born generation as in Japan. The SPMR of liver cancer decreased to the low level of the general population of São Paulo, even among the first generation. These changes in cancer patterns are discussed in relation to those among Japanese residents in the United States.