Comparing Age at Cancer Diagnosis between Hispanics and Non-Hispanic Whites in the United States
Background: Population age structure may confound the comparison of age at cancer diagnosis across racial/ethnic groups. We compared age at cancer diagnosis for U.S. Hispanics, a population that is younger on average, and non-Hispanic whites (NHW), before and after adjustment for the age structure of the source population.
Methods: We used Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results data from 18 U.S. regions in 2015 for 34 cancer sites to calculate crude and adjusted (using age- and sex-specific weights) mean ages at diagnosis. Differences in age at diagnosis comparing Hispanics to NHWs ( δ ) were assessed using independent sample t tests.
Results: Crude mean ages at diagnosis were lower among Hispanic males and females for all sites combined and for most cancer sites. After age-adjustment, Hispanic (vs. NHW) males remained younger on average at diagnosis of chronic myeloid leukemia [ δ = −6.1; 95% confidence interval (CI), −8.1 to −4.1 years], testicular cancer ( δ =−4.7; 95% CI, −5.4 to −4.0), Kaposi sarcoma ( δ =−3.6; 95% CI,−6.3 to −0.8), mesothelioma ( δ =−3.0; 95% CI,−4.3 to −1.7), and anal cancer ( δ =−2.4; 95% CI, −3.9 to −0.8), and older at diagnosis of gallbladder cancer (δ = +3.8; 95% CI, 1.8 to 5.7) and Hodgkin's lymphoma ( δ = +7.5; 95% CI, 5.7 to 9.4), and Hispanic (vs. NHW) females remained younger at diagnosis of mesothelioma ( δ = −3.7; 95% CI, −6.7 to −0.7) and gallbladder cancer ( δ = −3.0; 95% CI, −4.3 to −1.7) and older at diagnosis of skin cancer ( δ = +3.8; 95% CI, 3.1 to 4.5), cervical cancer ( δ = +4.1; 95% CI, 3.3 to 4.8), and Hodgkin's lymphoma ( δ = +7.0; 95% CI, 5.0 to 9.1).
Conclusions: On average, Hispanics are diagnosed with cancer at younger ages than NHWs; however, for many cancers these differences reflect the younger age structure in Hispanics.
Impact: Population age structure should be considered when comparing age at cancer diagnosis across racial/ethnic groups.
