Most dramatic rise in breast cancer rates seen among Asian-American women
Asian-American women, particularly those of South Asian (Indian and Pakistani), Vietnamese, and Southeast Asian (Cambodian, Laotians, Hmong, and Thai) descent, have showed the most dramatic increase in breast cancer rates over the past 15 years, according to a study released this month.
Researchers say it calls attention to the need to understand how different health problems can affect various Asian-American populations.
Scarlett Lin Gomez, research scientist with the Cancer Prevention Institute of California (CPIC) in the US and the lead author of the report, said the difference in patterns is a shock to people.
The researchers examined breast cancer trends among women in the San Francisco Bay Area from the seven Asian-American groups from 1988 to 2013. The results show that breast cancer rates among women from these groups have been steadily increasing over the last 15 years, while the disease has seemed to stabilize in other racial groups.
“They also happen to be the most recently immigrated groups,” Gomez said. “Their patterns are mirroring what we saw for Japanese Americans back in the 70s and 80s.”
Breast cancer rates among Japanese Americans seem to have leveled off, more closely resembling the patterns among non-Hispanic white women.
In addition, the tumors aren’t being detected until later stages for certain groups. Women of Filipino, Korean, and South Asian descent tend to be in more advanced stages of breast cancer by the time the disease is diagnosed, according to the study.
The recent findings reinforce what San Francisco State University (SFSU) Asian-American studies professor Mai-Nhung Le has observed in her own Vietnamese-American community.
Le’s sister was diagnosed with late stage breast cancer when she was pregnant and in her 30s after her doctor assured her that Asian women don’t get breast cancer, Le said. It was already too late when Le’s sister was tested. Her inflammatory breast cancer had already traveled through her lymph nodes by then, and she died before her 40th birthday.
That loss inspired Le to study the needs of Asian-American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) breast cancer survivors. Compared to the general population, AAPI women reported more unmet daily physical needs, such as needing help with cooking, housework, and transportation. Le also noted the significance of CPIC findings that Vietnamese and Southeast Asian women are more likely to have breast cancer before age 50.
“If they’re younger, they’re going to lose a lot of potential earning,” Le said, noting that one of the residual effects of the Vietnam War and subsequent refugee experience is that Vietnamese-American women are more likely to be the primary breadwinners in their family.
“I think there’s going to be need for financial support and help with child rearing,” she said.
Asian-American women may also be prone to a more aggressive type of breast cancer than other racial groups, the CPIC study found.The cancer subtype caused by the HER2-Neu protein affected women of Filipino, Vietnamese, and Korean descent more than non-Hispanic white women, according to the study.
While the study didn’t look into the reasons behind the increase in breast cancer among AAPI women, researchers said that the data points to the importance of more breast cancer support for Asian-American women.
Medical sociologist Grace Yoo, also a professor at SFSU, has studied breast cancer and social support among women of color, predominantly Asian-American women, in the Bay Area. Yoo and her colleagues found many patients needed spiritual support as well as tangible, informational, and emotional support as they faced their diagnosis.
Yoo said that stigma around breast cancer is still prevalent in the Asian-American community, where women may not talk about it and then not receive the support that they need, adding that AAPI families need to be more open in talking about the disease.
That support can even be as basic as telling relatives about the family history of cancer so that younger generations are aware of genetic risks, Gomez said.
“Asian-American women with breast cancer talking with other Asian-American women with breast cancer can be incredibly supportive,” Yoo said.
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