Differences in Pancreatic Cancer Incidence Rates and Temporal Trends Across Asian Subpopulations in California (1988–2015)

OBJECTIVE: Ethnic disparities in pancreatic cancer (PanCan) incidence exist, but little is known about incidence trends in heterogeneous Asian Americans. We examined PanCan incidence and temporal patterns among detailed ethnic populations, including Asian American subgroups. METHODS: A total of 71,099 invasive exocrine PanCan cases were identified using the California Cancer Registry between 1988 and 2015. Cases were grouped into mutually exclusive groups of non-Hispanic (NH) white, NH black, Hispanic, NH Asian/Pacific Islander (API), and NH American Indian/Alaska Native (AIAN). Asians were further identified by specific ethnicity. RESULTS: The age-adjusted incidence rates (AAIRs, per 100,000) of PanCan varied significantly across racial/ethnic groups, ranging from the highest of 10.4 in NH blacks to 7.6 in NH whites, 7.1 in Hispanics, 6.2 in NH APIs, and to the lowest of 5.2 in NH AIAN. Despite the relatively low rate in the NH APIs, the rates across Asian subgroups varied significantly, with rates similar to NH whites in Japanese (8.1) and Koreans (7.5) to the low rate in South Asians (4.4). CONCLUSIONS: Significant heterogeneity of PanCan incidence in disaggregated Asian Americans is a novel finding. These results fill a gap regarding PanCan burden in Asian Americans and underscore the importance of disaggregating ethnic populations in cancer research.