Latinos Less Likely To Receive Early Cancer Diagnoses
Latinos have lower rates of most major types of cancer than whites but are less likely to be diagnosed in the early stages of certain cancers, according to a government report released Tuesday by organizations including the National Cancer Institute, Bloomberg/San Diego Union-Tribune reports. The study, which annually updates trends in the incidence rate of a variety of cancers since 1975, includes data from 90% of the U.S. Latino population and offers "the most detailed look yet at the disease" among that group, Bloomberg/Union-Tribune reports.
The report found that:
- Latinos have lower rates of fatal cancers -- such as lung, prostate and breast -- than whites;
- Latinos are more susceptible to less common forms of cancer;
- Latino children are more likely to develop blood, eye and bone cancers compared with whites;
- Latino adults are more likely to develop virus-induced cancers, such as cervical cancer, viral-associated forms of stomach cancer and liver cancers linked to hepatitis viruses; and
- Latino women get breast cancer at the same rate as white women but are less likely to be diagnosed at an early stage.