Colorectal Cancer Screening among Asian Americans

Abstract

Objectives: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the most commonly diagnosed cancer for all US populations including Asian Americans. CRC screening has considerable benefits to prevent CRC and reduce mortality. The purpose of this article was to review the published literature on rates of colorectal cancer screening and factors associated with colorectal cancer screening practice among Asian Americans. Methods: Through searching electronic reference databases from 2000 to 2013, 30 articles were found on Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese Americans. Findings: Asian Americans had significantly low ratesfor CRC screening; Korean Americans reported the lowest rates, while higher screening rates were found among Japanese Americans. Older age, longer length of stay in the US, and having a physician's recommendation were the most common facilitators to receiving screening. The common inhibiting factors were financial issues, employment status, and worries/fears about the procedure. Conclusions: Despite a number of Asian Americans being vulnerable to CRC, individual Asian subgroups were underserved with CRC screening and intervention. Further studies should focus on each individual Asian subgroup and culturally proficient CRC screening intervention programs should be developed for each.

Examining the gastric cancer survival gap between Asians and whites in the United States

“…In addition to the demographic and clinical characteristics studied here, gastric cancer awareness and coping mechanisms after diagnosis have important and lasting effects on cancer outcomes. Among immigrants, these are known to be associated with culture and length of stay in the US [51,52]. Although the lack of survival disparities among Asian ethnicities does not explain the survival disadvantage of NHWs, revealed ethnic group differences point to the need for increased awareness among all Americans of gastric cancer screening as well as potential surgical options once diagnosed.…”

Breast, Cervix and Colorectal Cancer Knowledge among Nurses in Turkey

“…The main goal of screening for colorectal cancer is to detect adenomatous polyps. Colorectal cancer screening has been shown to decrease the incidence and mortality (Al-Naggar and Bobryshev, 2013;Hwang, 2013). Approximately one third of them think they are not at risk for colorectal cancer, their age is younger can be the cause of this idea.…”

The Role of Physician Recommendation in Colorectal Cancer Screening Receipt Among Immigrant Chinese Americans

“…Regular CRC screening can detect and remove precursor lesions or find early stage CRC that can be cured. However, receipt of CRC screening remains suboptimal, particularly among Asian Americans [2][3][4][5][6]. Chinese Americans, the largest Asian American group, have lower rates of CRC screening than non-Hispanic Whites, African Americans and Latinos [6,7].…”

“…The combination of low health literacy and limited English proficiency has been negatively associated with being up-to-date for CRC screening in Chinese Americans [11]. Additional markers for low acculturation, such as being foreign born and fewer years in the U.S., are also barriers [2,13].…”