MULTIETHNIC COHORT STUDY DISCOVERIES
Native Hawaiians and Japanese
Americans have a higher risk than other ethnic / racial groups of developing pancreatic cancer according to new Multiethnic Cohort ( MEC ) study findings by UH Cancer Center researchers published in Cancer Medicine .
Pancreatic cancer risk factors , such as family history of the disease , diabetes , obesity , smoking and red meat intake , did not explain the higher risk for Native Hawaiians and Japanese Americans . The study also confirmed previous studies that African Americans are known to be at increased risk for the disease as well .
PANCREATIC CANCER IS ONE OF THE DEADLIEST CANCERS . IT ONLY HAS A FIVE-YEAR SURVIVAL RATE OF EIGHT PERCENT . THERE IS NO SCREENING TEST FOR DETECTING PANCREATIC CANCER EARLY , WHEN IT IS MOST CURABLE . THUS ,
IT IS IMPORTANT TO IDENTIFY RISK FACTORS THAT ARE MODIFIABLE SUCH AS DIET AND LIFESTYLE TO PREVENT ITS OCCURRENCE .”
– LOIC LE MARCHAND , MD , PHD , UH CANCER CENTER EPIDEMIOLOGIST AND STUDY CO-PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
UH CANCER CENTER HAWAIʻI TUMOR REGISTRY The incidence of pancreatic cancer in Hawai ‘ i is the 6th highest among all U . S . states and has been increasing over the past decades .
The Multiethnic Cohort ( MEC ) study is a prospective study conducted by UH Cancer Center and University of Southern California epidemiologists that has followed 215,000 Japanese , Native Hawaiians and Whites in Hawaiʻi and African Americans and Latinos in Los Angeles since 1993-1996 . The study ’ s goals are to understand ethnic / racial differences in cancer risk and survival and to find ways to mitigate cancer disparities in these populations .
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