142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

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311299
Cancer incidence patterns among Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders in California and Hawaii, 1995-2010

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Monday, November 17, 2014 : 1:30 PM - 1:50 PM

Sela V. Panapasa, PhD , Institute for Social Research (ISR), University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
David R. Williams, PhD, MPH , Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, African and African American Studies, and Sociology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA
Willie Underwood III, MD, MPH, MSci , Department of Urology, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY
James W. McNally, PhD , Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Background/Significance:  Administrative and surveillance data represent essential data sources for measuring the burden of disease among small populations such as Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders (NHPI). The main barrier to the use of such data is the lack of systematic population estimates. 

Objective/Purpose: To examine the prevalence of cancer among NHPIs in California and Hawaii and compare outcomes to patterns for Whites and Blacks.

Methods: The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) data is used to examine NHPI cancer incidence patterns in California and Hawaii.  Data from the 1990, 2000 and 2010 U.S. population census are used to calculate intercensal population estimates for Native Hawaiians, Samoans and Guamanians/Chamorros and data from NCHS Mortality and Natality Files are used to adjust estimates at the state level. Using our population estimates, age-specific and age-adjusted incidence rates are calculated for leading cancer sites for males and females.  These standardized results are directly compared to rates for White and Black populations in California and Hawaii for the same time period.

Results: Marked rates of cancers exist for NHPI males and females, but some additional cancer sites may also represent areas to explore as our ability to examine specific NHPI subpopulations improves.  Age-specific cancer incidence rates for NHPIs were measurably lower than the total population White and Black.  When these results are age-adjusted to provide standardized cancer incidence rates, NHPIs are found to reach more elevated levels similar to the Whites and Blacks.

Discussion/Conclusions:  1) Younger Pacific Islanders reflect atypically low rates of cancer diagnosis compared to the US population; 2) Younger Pacific Islanders may require increased attention to ensure adequate screening for cancers as it is unclear if later diagnosis could have been caught at earlier stages of the disease; and 3) Pacific Islanders face elevated levels for cancer similar to Blacks and Whites.

Learning Areas:

Chronic disease management and prevention
Diversity and culture
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Demonstrate the importance of API data disaggregation and evidence-based research. Compare cancer incidence patterns among NHPIs living in two different areas.

Keyword(s): Cancer, Asian and Pacific Islanders

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have been the principal of multiple federally funded grants focusing on cancer health disparities. Among my scientific interests has been the development of inter-censual estimates of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander populations.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 3227.0: Revealing important health patterns in Asian and Pacific Islander populations using disaggregated data