A Mass General Cancer Center study found a "striking" increase in cancer deaths among 25- to 34-year-old Hispanic men along with an increase in cancer deaths across Hispanic women.
The study, published June 29 in JAMA Oncology, analyzed more than 690,600 cancer deaths among Hispanic individuals using data from the CDC's Wide-ranged ONline Data for Epidemiologic Research database. Researchers found that cancer deaths in Hispanic individuals decreased from 1999 to 2020, with an exception. For Hispanic men between 25 and 34 years old, cancer mortality rates rose. The rates of colorectal and testicular cancer deaths were "especially high" for this group.
"This finding was pretty striking and may be driving the increase in overall cancer-specific mortality in this particular age group," senior author Sophia Kamran, MD, of the department of radiation oncology at the Mass General Cancer Center, said in the release. "There could be a lack of awareness, education, and screening since there is a stigma associated with testicular cancer. And we know colorectal cancer mortality is increasing among younger populations in general."
Here are five other findings:
- Cancer mortality rates declined overall.
- Rates of liver cancer deaths among Hispanic men and women rose.
- Rates of pancreatic and uterine cancer deaths increased among Hispanic women.
- Liver cancer mortality rates increased significantly in the West for Hispanic men and women compared to other regions.
- Lung cancer mortality rates were found to be "substantially reduced" for Hispanic men and women.