(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) -- Many of the 15,000 Hmong immigrants arriving in the United States this year will confront an illness that has no name in the Hmong language -- cancer. According to research presented today at the 5th Asian American Cancer Control Academy, the Hmong in California face rates of nasopharyngeal, cervical, stomach and liver cancer that are up to 16 times higher than for non-Hispanic whites and three times higher than for Asian Americans overall. In addition, the Hmong are much less likely than other ethnic groups in California to have their cancers diagnosed at an early, treatable stage.

Between 1988 and 2000, only 24 percent of cancers diagnosed in California's Hmong were detected at an early stage. Nasopharyngeal cancer was diagnosed early in only 3 percent of cases, stomach cancer in only 10 percent of cases and liver cancer in only 15 percent.

More than a third of the nation's 169,000 Hmong -- 65,000 -- live in California. The U.S. State Department last year granted permission for another 15,000 Hmong to enter the country from Thailand. About half of these newest immigrants are also expected to settle in California.

"The Hmong are a unique people with unique health challenges," says Moon S. Chen, Jr., professor of public health sciences at UC Davis School of Medicine and Medical Center. Chen is principal investigator of the Asian American Network for Cancer Awareness, Research and Training (AANCART), an $8.5 million project funded by the National Cancer Institute and headquartered at UC Davis.

"Until now we have had very little information about cancer rates and risks in the Hmong," Chen said. "This study points to the need for increased cancer education, awareness and screening among the Hmong both in California and nationally to help them confront cancer, one of their biggest health threats."

To determine cancer rates in the Hmong, researchers combed the California Cancer Registry for cancer cases di
'"/>

Contact: Claudia Morain
claudia.morain@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu
916-734-9023
University of California, Davis - Health System
22-Oct-2004

Page: 1 2 3 4
Related medicine news :

1. Largest study of Hmong shamanism prompts new patient care guidelines
2. New study in Nature demonstrates protection against cell death during heart attack
3. Lack of clinical trial participation may contribute to lower survival rates
4. Sudan surveys show high rates of death and malnutrition among displaced population
5. Effects of education level on rates of obesity differ by race
6. Gender gap for lung cancer rates narrowing
7. Heart surgeons publish death rates
8. Over prescribing causing high rates of antibiotic resistance in south and east Europe
9. Free nicotine patches increase short-term smoking quit rates
10. ZYVOX(R) demonstrates high success rate for patients who develop MRSA surgical site infections
11. Researchers develop MRI technique to study brain anatomy in invertebrates