Cancer mortality among Chinese, Japanese, and Indians in British Columbia, 1964-73

We compared age-adjusted mortality rates for cancer of selected sites for Chinese, Japanese, and native Indian residents of British Columbia during the years 1964-73 to the corresponding rates for the white population. Mortality from all cancers of the Chinese did not differ significantly from that of whites. Elevated rates are seen for cancer of the nasopharynx in both sexes, of the liver and esophagus in males, and of the lung in females. Chinese males had a lower mortality than whites from stomach, prostate, and bladder cancer and brain tumors, whereas females had a lower mortality from tumors of the colon, breast, and ovary; both sexes had a lower mortality from leukemia. For Japanese males and females, the mortality rates for all cancers combined were similar to those of the white population. The rates for cancer of the stomach and gallbladder were higher in both sexes; males also showed a higher rate of liver cancer. Prostate and breast cancer mortality rates were lower. Native Indian males had a lower mortality rate from all cancers combined; the difference was significant for stomach, colon, lung, and prostate cancers, and for leukemia. Native Indian females showed a lower rate for ovarian cancer and a higher rate of tumors of the gallbladder and uterine cervix, but their overall cancer mortality was similar to that of whites.