Abstract
Although most are first-generation immigrants, the Korean population of Los Angeles, USA, showed a different pattern of cancer incidence to Korean residents of Seoul. Among Koreans in Los Angeles, the incidence of cancer, at all sites, was lower than in Seoul, both in males and females; among males aged 40-59 and females aged 30-49, the incidence was markedly lower. For several sites of cancer, for example the stomach, liver, and bladder in males and the cervix uteri and liver in females, the incidence for U.S. Koreans was significantly lower. Furthermore, for several sites, mean age at diagnosis was lower in Seoul than in Los Angeles.
For Korean males in Seoul, the seven leading sites of cancer, namely the stomach(26.4 %), lung(16.2%), liver(14.4 %), colo-rectum(8.9%), bladder(3.9%), gallbladder(3.8%), and pancreas(2.7 %), accounted for three-quarter(76.3 %) of all cancers occurring.
For Korean males in Los Angeles, the seven leading sites were the stomach(22.9%), lung(21.1 %), liver(11.1 %), colo-rectum(6.8%), prostate(4.9 %), non-Hodgkin's lymphoma(3.3%), and gallbladder(2.8%), and comprised 72.9 % of all cancers.
In females in Seoul, the seven leading cancer sites, comprising 75.8% of all cancers, were the cervix uteri(20.5 %), stomach(16.9 %), breast(11.6%), colo-rectum(9.0%), liver(6.7%), lung(6.6 %), and thyroid(4.5%). Among females in Los Angeles, the sites were the stomach(18.0%), cervix uteri(13.6%), breast(13.3%), lung(9.7 %), colo-rectum(9.6%), thyroid(5.6%), and liver(3.1 %), and comprised 72.9 % of all cancers. J Epidemiol, 1996 ; 6 : S161-S164.
