Asian American breast cancer rates climb fastest of any U.S. group, UCSF study finds
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A UCSF-led study published in JAMA Network Open finds invasive breast cancer incidence rose more than 3% annually in nearly every Asian American ethnic group from 2000 through 2022. The fastest increases occurred among women under 50, advanced-stage diagnoses, and Chinese and Vietnamese women. Researchers say greater use of screening likely does not explain the trend.
Key Facts
- A UCSF-led study published in JAMA Network Open recorded invasive breast cancer incidence increases of more than 3% per year in nearly every Asian American ethnic group examined from 2000 through 2022.
- Triple-negative breast cancer cases among Chinese American women rose by more than 6% each year between 2017 and 2022.
- The analysis covered about 150,000 invasive breast cancer cases from the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program across nine Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander populations in 14 states.
- Native Hawaiian women already had some of the highest breast cancer rates among U.S. women, but their incidence increased by about 1% per year, substantially less than the increases among Asian American groups.
- By 2022, breast cancer incidence among Asian American women under 50 had become comparable to the rate among non-Hispanic white women of the same age group.
Ethnic Incidence Patterns
Breast cancer incidence rose by more than 3% annually in nearly every Asian American ethnic group examined from 2000 through 2022. The increases were even greater among Chinese and Vietnamese women. Native Hawaiian women already have some of the highest breast cancer rates among U.S. women, but their incidence increased by about 1% per year, substantially less than the increases among Asian American groups. By 2022, breast cancer incidence among Asian American women under 50 had become comparable to the rate among non-Hispanic white women of the same age group.
Stage and Subtype Patterns
Researchers at UCSF said greater use of breast cancer screening probably does not explain the trend, because screening tends to identify cancers at earlier stages, while the fastest increases occurred among cancers that had already spread. Cases of triple-negative breast cancer, the most aggressive subtype, increased by more than 6% each year among Chinese American women between 2017 and 2022. Senior author Scarlett Lin Gomez, professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at UCSF and co-leader of the Cancer Control Program at the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, called the patterns highly concerning from a disparities standpoint. Gomez said the findings underscore the importance of moving beyond treating Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders as a single population.
Study Data and Scope
The analysis included about 150,000 invasive breast cancer cases diagnosed from 2000 through 2022, drawn from the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program. The study covered nine specific Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander populations across 14 states. The study did not identify a cause for the faster rise among women younger than 50. Those states are home to about two-thirds of the U.S. AANHPI population.
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Asian American breast cancer rates climb fastest of any U.S. group, UCSF study finds
