Cancer

von Eschenbach, Andrew C.

doi: 10.1002/cncr.21513pmid: 16247778

Coronado, Gloria D.; Taylor, Vicky; Acorda, Elizabeth; Hoai Do, H.; Thompson, Beti

doi: 10.1002/cncr.21503pmid: 16270314

Chinese Americans are at disproportionately high risk of liver cancer. A major risk factor for liver cancer in Asia is infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV): Approximately 80% of liver cancers are linked to HBV, and chronic carriers of HBV are > 100 times more likely to develop liver cancer compared with noncarriers. However, many adults, particularly those who have immigrated to the U.S., remain untested and therefore unvaccinated or unmonitored for the disease. Chinese Americans are mostly foreign born, and more recent arrivals face multiple social and health challenges. Many require special attention from public health professionals because of low levels of acculturation and difficulties learning English. It has long been established that an English as a Second Language (ESL) curriculum can teach immigrant adults and their family's important life skills, such as job training and citizenship. The authors report on their plans to develop and pilot test a culturally appropriate curriculum that will motivate Chinese ESL students to obtain a blood test for the detection of the HBV. Cancer 2005. © 2005 American Cancer Society.

Choe, John H.; Chan, Nadine; Do, H. Hoai; Woodall, Erica; Lim, Eunyoung; Taylor, Victoria M.

doi: 10.1002/cncr.21518pmid: 16276533

Hepatocellular cancer occurs more frequently among Koreans, Vietnamese, and Chinese than other racial/ethnic groups in the U.S. This excess risk can be attributed to high rates of chronic hepatitis B viral (HBV) infection and low rates of HBV vaccination among Asian immigrants. However, there is little available information regarding the hepatitis B knowledge, beliefs, and practices among Koreans, the fifth‐largest Asian population in the U.S. This brief report summarizes results from 30 qualitative interviews and two focus groups investigating hepatitis and liver cancer prevention, behavior, and beliefs among first‐generation Korean immigrant adults ages 18–64 years residing in the Seattle–Tacoma metropolitan area of Washington State. The report concludes with suggestions for future investigations to address the high rates of chronic HBV infection and hepatocellular cancer in this vulnerable population. Cancer 2005. © 2005 American Cancer Society.

Mills, Paul K.; Yang, Richard C.; Riordan, Deborah

doi: 10.1002/cncr.21525pmid: 16247793

The Hmong represent a unique new Southeast Asian immigrant group to the U.S. Approximately 169,000 Hmong reside in the U.S., primarily in California, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Previous studies of cancer in this population have indicated that Hmong experience an elevated risk of gastric, hepatic, cervical, and nasopharyngeal cancers and experience a reduced risk of breast, prostate, lung, and colorectal cancers. Approximately 65,000 Hmong live in California, where there has been a population‐based cancer registry since 1988, and the authors used these data to calculate age‐adjusted cancer incidence rates and to examine disease stage and tumor grade at diagnosis. Changes in rates during the period studied also were evaluated. These rates and proportions were compared with rates among the non‐Hispanic white (NHW) and Asian/Pacific Islander (API) populations of California. Between 1988 and 2000, a total of 749 Hmong in California were diagnosed with invasive cancer, and the age‐adjusted rate of cancer for the Hmong was 284 per 100,000 population, compared with 362.6 and 478 per 100,000 in the API and NHW populations, respectively. The age‐adjusted incidence rates of cancer in the Hmong were elevated for hepatic, gastric, cervical, and nasopharyngeal cancers and for leukemia and non‐Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). Rates were lower in the Hmong for colorectal, lung, breast, and prostate cancers. For gastric cancer and lung cancer, age‐adjusted rates increased between 1988 and 2000 in the Hmong, although breast cancer incidence declined. Cervical cancer incidence increased, rates of NHL were declining, and rates for colorectal cancer remained steady between 1988 and 2000. The Hmong experienced later disease stage at diagnosis than other API and generally poorer grade of disease at diagnosis. Hmong experienced lower overall invasive cancer incidence rates than API or NHW populations in California. However, they experienced higher rates of hepatic, gastric, cervical, and nasopharyngeal cancers; and, for most types of cancer, they were diagnosed in a later disease stage. Cancer 2005. © 2005 American Cancer Society.

Tang, Hao; Shimizu, Robin; Chen, Moon S.

doi: 10.1002/cncr.21523pmid: 16276539

The authors documented California's tobacco control initiatives for Asian Americans and the current tobacco use status among Asian subgroups and provide a discussion of the challenges ahead. The California Tobacco Control Program has employed a comprehensive approach to decrease tobacco use in Asian Americans, including ethnic‐specific media campaigns, culturally competent interventions, and technical assistance and training networks. Surveillance of tobacco use among Asian Americans and the interpretation of the results have always been a challenge. Data from the 2001 The California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) were analyzed to provide smoking prevalence estimates for all Asian Americans and Asian‐American subgroups, including Korean, Filipino, Japanese, South Asian, Chinese, and Vietnamese. Current smoking prevalence was analyzed by gender and by English proficiency level. Cigarette smoking prevalence among Asian males in general was almost three times of that among Asian females. Korean and Vietnamese males had higher cigarette smoking prevalence rates than males in other subgroups. Although Asian females in general had low smoking prevalence rates, significant differences were found among Asian subgroups, from 1.1% (Vietnamese) to 12.7% (Japanese). Asian men who had high English proficiency were less likely to be smokers than men with lower English proficiency. Asian women with high English proficiency were more likely to be smokers than women with lower English proficiency. Smoking prevalence rates among Asian Americans in California differed significantly on the basis of ethnicity, gender, and English proficiency. English proficiency seemed to have the effect of reducing smoking prevalence rates among Asian males but had just the opposite effect among Asian females. Cancer 2005. © 2005 American Cancer Society.