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Papillary thyroid cancer incidence rates vary significantly by birthplace in Asian American women

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Abstract

Objective

To investigate how birthplace influences the incidence of papillary thyroid cancer among Asian American women.

Methods

Birthplace- and ethnic-specific age-adjusted and age-specific incidence rates were calculated using data from the California Cancer Registry for the period 1988–2004. Birthplace was statistically imputed for 30% of cases using a validated imputation method based on age at Social Security number issuance. Population estimates were obtained from the US Census. Incidence rate ratios (IRR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated for foreign-born vs. US-born women.

Results

Age-adjusted incidence rates of papillary thyroid cancer among Filipina (13.7 per 100,000) and Vietnamese (12.7) women were more than double those of Japanese women (6.2). US-born Chinese (IRR = 0.48, 95% CI: 0.40–0.59) and Filipina women (IRR = 0.74, 95% CI: 0.58–0.96) had significantly higher rates than those who were foreign-born; the opposite was observed for Japanese women (IRR = 1.55, 95% CI: 1.17–2.08). The age-specific patterns among all foreign-born Asian women and US-born Japanese women showed a slow steady increase in incidence until age 70. However, among US-born Asian women (except Japanese), substantially elevated incidence rates during the reproductive and menopausal years were evident.

Conclusions

Ethnic- and birthplace-variation in papillary thyroid cancer incidence can provide insight into the etiology of this increasingly common and understudied cancer.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Dr. Tim Miller, Ms. Rita Leung, Ms. Sarah Shema, and Ms. Jane Pham for their help with data collection for this study. This research was supported by the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) Program under contract N01-PC-35136 awarded to the Northern California Cancer Center (NCCC) and by a SEER Rapid Response Surveillance Study under contracts N01-PC-35136 and N01-PC-35139. The collection of cancer incidence data used in this study was supported by the California Department of Health Services (CDHS) as part of the statewide cancer reporting program mandated by California Health and Safety Code Section 103885; the NCI’s SEER Program under contract N01-PC-35136 awarded to the NCCC, contract N01-PC-35139 awarded to the University of Southern California, and contract N02-PC-15105 awarded to the Public Health Institute (PHI); and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDCP) National Program of Cancer Registries, under agreement #U55/CCR921930-02 awarded to PHI. The ideas and opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and endorsement by the State of California, CDHS, NCI, and CDCP or their contractors and subcontractors is not intended nor should be inferred.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cancer Prevention Institute of California, 2201 Walnut Ave., Suite 300, Fremont, CA, 94538, USA

    Pamela L. Horn-Ross, Laura A. McClure, Ellen T. Chang, Christina A. Clarke, Theresa H. M. Keegan, Rudolph P. Rull, Thu Quach & Scarlett Lin Gomez

  2. Department of Health Research and Policy and Stanford Cancer Center, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA, USA

    Pamela L. Horn-Ross, Ellen T. Chang, Christina A. Clarke, Theresa H. M. Keegan, Rudolph P. Rull & Scarlett Lin Gomez

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  1. Pamela L. Horn-Ross
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Correspondence to Pamela L. Horn-Ross.

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Horn-Ross, P.L., McClure, L.A., Chang, E.T. et al. Papillary thyroid cancer incidence rates vary significantly by birthplace in Asian American women. Cancer Causes Control 22, 479–485 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-010-9720-5

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