Lung cancer among Asian Americans

Abstract

Among Asian-American men and women, lung cancer is the second most commonly occurring cancer and primary cause of cancer-related mortality. Collectively, Asian-American men and women have a lower incidence rate of lung cancer than their non-Hispanic white counterparts. However, there is considerable heterogeneity in incidence rates across Asian-American subgroups, some of whom experience increasing rates of lung cancer and/or rates similar to non-Hispanic Whites. Active cigarette smoking is the primary risk factor for lung cancer; cigarette smoking may be influenced by education, acculturation, and access to health care. Among never smokers, Asian-American women experience a higher risk of lung cancer in comparison to Asian-American men and non-Hispanic white women; and additional risk factors such as indoor- and outdoor air pollution, passive smoking, and lifestyle factors should be considered. In order to aid in disease prevention and improve survival through early stage diagnosis, further work towards understanding risk factors in never smokers as well as identifying at-risk individuals in this growing US population are needed.