Cancer Mortality in Hispanic Ethnic Groups

Abstract

Background: Cancer is the leading cause of death among Hispanics. The burden of cancer mortality within Hispanic groups has not been well quantified.Methods: Cancer mortality rates for 2008-2012 in Florida were computed on the basis of race, ethnicity, and birthplace, specifically focusing on major Hispanic groups-Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Central Americans, South Americans, and Dominicans. Age-adjusted mortality rate ratios derived from negative binomial regression were used to compare Hispanics, aggregated and by group, to nonHispanic whites (NHW).Results: A total of 205,369 cancer deaths from 2008-2012 were analyzed, of which 22,042 occurred in Hispanics. Overall cancer mortality rates were lower for Hispanics, 159 and 100 per 100,000 in males and females, respectively, compared with 204 and 145 per 100,000 in NHWs, largely driven by relatively low rates of lung and breast cancers among Hispanics. However, Hispanics had a higher risk of death from stomach and liver cancers, both infection-related. Of all Hispanic groups, Mexicans had the lowest mortality, whereas Cubans had the highest, with significantly higher mortality for colorectal, endometrial, and prostate cancers.Conclusions: Compared with other Hispanic groups, Cubans and Puerto Ricans had significantly higher rates. For these longer-established populations in the United States, increases in diet and obesity-related cancers are evident. Some groups show excesses that clearly fall out of the common Hispanic patterns, with implications for public health: Cubans for colorectal cancer, Puerto Ricans for liver cancer, and Dominicans for prostate cancer.Impact: Cancer mortality outcomes in Hispanics vary between ethnic groups. Research and public health strategies should consider this heterogeneity. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 26(3); 376-82. ©2017 AACR.