Groundbreaking cancer study focuses on Asian Americans

FILE – A radiologist uses a magnifying glass to check mammograms for breast cancer in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)

Filipino women in the United States have been reported by the National Institutes of Health to present more advanced breast cancer compared to White women, and Filipino immigrants also show a higher annual percentage increase in incidence across all subtypes of thyroid cancer.

Despite these increasing incidences, a national longitudinal study on cancer in Asian Americans has never been conducted – until now.

The National Cancer Institute has recently launched a groundbreaking $12.45 million initiative for the first national long-term study aimed at understanding cancer in Asian Americans, as well as investigating health disparities and risk factors.

Leading this landmark study are researchers from UC San Francisco and UC Irvine. They are focusing on various cancer types prevalent in Asian American communities, including breast cancer among young Asian American women, nasopharyngeal cancer in Chinese Americans, liver cancer in Southeast Asian Americans, gastric cancer in Korean and Japanese Americans and thyroid cancer in Filipino Americans.

How to participate?

The study aims to enroll 20,000 participants this year, with plans to expand to 50,000 in the future. Participants will provide saliva samples and respond to lifestyle inquiries, ensuring comprehensive data collection. But take note: participation in the study involves being studied over many years, not just for a day or so.

Iona Chen, another principal investigator at UC San Francisco, explains that the study will monitor participants over several years to track cancer development, including types such as lung, breast, gastric and liver cancers.

Eligible participants are adults aged 40 to 75 without a cancer diagnosis. There will also be remote interviews, eliminating the need for participants to travel to study sites and thereby enhancing convenience and accessibility. This approach enables researchers to gather extensive and detailed information from a diverse group of participants across various regions, contributing to a deeper understanding of cancer risk factors in Asian American communities.

If you’re from Southern California, LAist listed the contact information: Cedars-Sinai is enrolling people in LA County at [email protected], while UC Irvine is enrolling Orange County participants at [email protected].