Nasopharyngeal cancer in the California Hmong, 1988-2000

Although previous studies document elevated nasopharyngeal cancer incidence in the American Hmong, a descriptive analysis is lacking. The present case-series aims to identify important features of head and neck cancers in the California Hmong, specifically nasopharyngeal cancer. We assessed incident head and neck cancers identified by the California Cancer Registry from 1988-2000 for incidence, mortality and descriptive comparisons between the Hmong, non-Hispanic Whites (NHW) and Asian/Pacific Islanders (API). Nasopharyngeal cancer was the most frequent Hmong cancer (39 of 51 cases) with incidence 23 times greater than in NHW. Nasopharyngeal cancer mortality rates for Hmong, NHW and API were 10.4, 0.2 and 1.7/100,000 respectively. Hmong were more likely to be diagnosed with remote tumors and less likely to receive treatment. A public health disparity clearly exists regarding nasopharyngeal cancer in the Hmong. Education on culturally appropriate healthcare and efforts to encourage diagnosis and treatment are necessary to reduce this disparity.