Purpose: Colorectal cancer (CRC) incidence has declined over the past two decades; however, these declines have not occurred equally in all populations. To better understand the impact of CRC among Hispanics, we examined incidence trends by age and Hispanic ethnicity.
Methods: Using data from the National Program of Cancer Registries and the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program, we estimated CRC incidence rates during the period 2001-2014, and across all 50 U.S. states. We estimated incidence rates in younger (age < 50 years) and older (age ≥ 50 years) adults by anatomic subsite and stage at diagnosis, separately for non-Hispanic Whites and Hispanic Whites.
Results: CRC incidence rates declined among older (age ≥ 50 years) Whites and Hispanics, but Whites experienced a greater decline (31% vs. 27% relative decline among Hispanics). In contrast to older adults, there were continued increases in CRC incidence from 2001 to 2014 among younger (age 20-49 years) adults. The largest relative increases in incidence occurred in Hispanics aged 20-29 years (90% vs. 50% relative increase among Whites).
Conclusions: Opposing incidence trends in younger versus older Hispanics may reflect generational differences in CRC risk by birth cohort, as well as environmental exposures and lifestyle-related risk factors associated with immigration and acculturation.
Keywords: Colorectal neoplasms; Hispanic Americans; Incidence; Population-based; Registries.