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. 2014 Jun 10;9(6):e99365.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0099365. eCollection 2014.

Incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma in Texas Latinos, 1995-2010: an update

Amelie G Ramirez  1 , Edgar Munoz  2 , Alan E C Holden  1 , Rebecca T Adeigbe  2 , Lucina Suarez  2
Affiliations

Incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma in Texas Latinos, 1995-2010: an update

Amelie G Ramirez et al. PLoS One. .

Erratum in

  • PLoS One. 2014;9(7):e103693

Abstract

Background: A previous study showed Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) rates to be higher among Latinos in Texas and highest among South Texas Latinos compared to other non-Hispanic whites (NHW) and other Latinos in the United States (U.S.). We used more recent data to assess trends in HCC among Texas Latinos and to reassess the elevated HCC incidence rate in Texas Latinos.

Methods: We used data from the U.S. SEER Program and the Texas Cancer Registry to calculate annual and 3-year moving average age-specific and age-adjusted HCC incidence rates, annual percent changes (APCs), and their corresponding 95% confidence intervals for Latinos and NHW in the U.S., Texas and South Texas.

Results: Texas Latino male and female incidence rates were 3.1 and 4.0 times higher than their NHW counterparts in SEER regions. Latino males and females in South Texas had the highest rates of HCC incidence overall; rate ratios were 3.6 and 4.2 among South Texas Latino males and females compared to SEER NHW counterparts. There are statistically significant increases in HCC incidence rates in all groups (Texas and South Texas Latinos and NHW groups) and across all age groups. The elevated HCC rates in Texas Latinos are consistent over the 1995-2010 period.

Conclusions: The incidence of HCC among Latinos in South Texas remains higher than elsewhere in the U.S. and warrants closer investigation of potential risk factors related to prevailing conditions unique to the population including higher obesity and diabetes rates, environmental, cultural and socioeconomic factors and possibly genetic predisposition.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Annual Age-adjusted incidence rates of hepatocellular carcinoma by ethnicity, 1995–2010.
Annual age-adjusted incidence of HCC increased over the study period and was highest among South Texas Latinos. HCC incidence for the three Latino populations was consistently higher than for non-Hispanic whites (NHW).
Figure 2
Figure 2. Age-specific incidence trends of hepatocellular carcinoma.
Age-specific incidence of HCC was consistently higher among Latinos than among non-Hispanic whites (NHW). Each point was estimated as a 3-yr moving average.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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