Cancer mortality risk among Japanese in the United States

Abstract

Earlier findings on cancer mortality experiences of Nisei and Issei were updated to around 1970. Compared with U.S. whites, Japanese in Japan had a high standardized mortality ratio (SMR) for cancers of the esophagus, stomach, biliary passages, and cervix, whereas they had low ratios for cancers of most other sites. Among U.S. Japanese, the direction and magnitude of the SMR transition varied by site, but generally the SMR moderated toward that of U.S. whites. Specifically, mortality from stomach cancer was elevated through the ratio has been reduced. In addition, mortality from cancers of the liver and biliary passages remained high. In contrast to a sharp decline in the SMR for esophageal cancer, the SMR for cancer of the colon and lymphomas rose closer to the levels for whites. The SMR for cancers of the ovary and prostate gland represented a rise above that of Japan. A higher Issei than Nisei SMR was observed for most cancer sites, regardless of the risk level in Japan. The reverse was true for cancers of the liver and nasopharynx among males, cancers of the breast and ovary among females, and lymphosarcoma and leukemia among both sexes.