Different Hispanic population groups have higher incidence rates of certain cancers and worse cancer outcomes if they live in the United States, than they do if they live in their homelands, revealed by researchers.
“Hispanics are not all the same with regard to their cancer experience,” said Paulo S. Pinheiro, M.D., Ph.D., M.Sc., researcher in the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.
“Targeted interventions for cancer prevention and control should take into account the specificity of each Hispanic subgroup: Cubans, Puerto Ricans or Mexicans,” added Pinheiro, who is the study’s lead researcher. Pinheiro received support from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology.
These results are published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
Studies to date have classified all Hispanics under the same umbrella, as a single ethnic group, hiding the differences between each population group.
“They are really heterogeneous from cultural and socioeconomic perspectives and represent several population groups,” said Amelie G. Ramirez, Dr.P.H., director of the Institute for Health Promotion Research, and co-associate director of the Cancer Prevention and Population Studies research program at the Cancer Therapy & Research Center at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.
The Hispanic population in the United States is increasing according to Ramirez – nearly one in every three people will be Hispanic by 2050. Ramirez, who was not involved in this research, said it is important to conduct studies like this to better understand these differences and learn what predisposes different population groups to certain types of cancer, in order to improve health outcomes.
Source: American Association for Cancer Research, USA