Filipino newcomers to Canada diagnosed with breast cancer at a younger age –study
Filipinos who move to Canada are more prone to having breast cancer at a younger age than women from other parts of East Asia or Caucasians, according to a recent study.
They are also more likely to be diagnosed with a more aggressive form of cancer and are more likely to undergo a mastectomy, according to the paper titled “Breast Cancer Amongst Filipino Migrants: A Review of the Literature and Ten-Year Institutional Analysis.”
Of the 782 patients studied at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, which has a sizeable Filipino patient population, Filipino newcomers to Canada were diagnosed with breast cancer at a younger age (53), compared to other East Asians (55) and Caucasians (58), the study showed.
“The Canadian Filipino community is a growing community and this new research raises the question of whether our current Canadian guidelines calling for mammograms starting at age 50 are meeting specific cultural needs of different ethnicities when it is known that it takes years for a breast cancer to develop,” said Dr. Jory Simpson, a surgical oncologist in the CIBC Breast Centre of St. Michael’s and one of the three authors of the study.
Moreover, the study also showed that 22.6 percent of Filipinos tested positive for human epidermal growth factor receptor 2, a protein which promotes the growth of cancer cells.
In a statement, Simpson said this was “disproportionately high” compared to those of East Asians (14.4 percent) and Caucasians (15.1 percent).
At least 35 percent of Filipino women with the same sized tumors as other groups underwent mastectomies, higher than Caucasians at 22.5 percent and East Asians at 28.3 percent, the study further said.
“Migrant Studies have consistently shown that when a woman moves from a region of low incidence to a region of higher incidence her risk of developing breast cancer increases,” said Simpson and his co-authors, Kaleigh Briggs and Ralph George, in their abstract.
“Many questions remain such as: how do we increase awareness about the benefits of screening mammography in the Filipino community? Should screening start at an earlier age? And finally, how do we ensure that the Filipino women are getting the adequate treatment given the aggressive nature of their breast cancer? Addressing these disparities should be viewed as a priority in breast cancer research,” they added.
According to the Canadian government, more than 450,000 individuals had identified the Philippines as their birth place as of 2011. —Rie Takumi/KBK, GMA News
They are also more likely to be diagnosed with a more aggressive form of cancer and are more likely to undergo a mastectomy, according to the paper titled “Breast Cancer Amongst Filipino Migrants: A Review of the Literature and Ten-Year Institutional Analysis.”
Of the 782 patients studied at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, which has a sizeable Filipino patient population, Filipino newcomers to Canada were diagnosed with breast cancer at a younger age (53), compared to other East Asians (55) and Caucasians (58), the study showed.
“The Canadian Filipino community is a growing community and this new research raises the question of whether our current Canadian guidelines calling for mammograms starting at age 50 are meeting specific cultural needs of different ethnicities when it is known that it takes years for a breast cancer to develop,” said Dr. Jory Simpson, a surgical oncologist in the CIBC Breast Centre of St. Michael’s and one of the three authors of the study.
Moreover, the study also showed that 22.6 percent of Filipinos tested positive for human epidermal growth factor receptor 2, a protein which promotes the growth of cancer cells.
In a statement, Simpson said this was “disproportionately high” compared to those of East Asians (14.4 percent) and Caucasians (15.1 percent).
At least 35 percent of Filipino women with the same sized tumors as other groups underwent mastectomies, higher than Caucasians at 22.5 percent and East Asians at 28.3 percent, the study further said.
“Migrant Studies have consistently shown that when a woman moves from a region of low incidence to a region of higher incidence her risk of developing breast cancer increases,” said Simpson and his co-authors, Kaleigh Briggs and Ralph George, in their abstract.
“Many questions remain such as: how do we increase awareness about the benefits of screening mammography in the Filipino community? Should screening start at an earlier age? And finally, how do we ensure that the Filipino women are getting the adequate treatment given the aggressive nature of their breast cancer? Addressing these disparities should be viewed as a priority in breast cancer research,” they added.
According to the Canadian government, more than 450,000 individuals had identified the Philippines as their birth place as of 2011. —Rie Takumi/KBK, GMA News
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