Report: Cancer Is Second-Leading Cause of Death for Latinos in US

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From 2009 and 2019, cancer was the top cause of death in the US for Latinos.

Now, while new data show that cancer has become the second-leading cause of death in Latinos, only slightly behind heart disease, cancer remains a big threat to Latino health.

Every year, heart disease and cancer cause 17% of Latino deaths in the US, according to the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Facts & Figures for Hispanic/Latino People 2024-2026 report.

Let’s dive into the key highlights of the report and go over some of the reasons why Latinos are disproportionately affected by cancer.

Cancer Incidence Among Latinos

The American Cancer Society estimates 195,300 cancer cases would be diagnosed in Latinos in 2024 with another 50,400 Latino individuals dying from the disease.

Among the Latino men diagnosed with cancer, 25% were diagnosed with prostate cancer, 10% had colorectal, and 8% had kidney cancer.

For Latinas, uterine corpus cancer comprised 9% of cases, 8% were colorectal, and 30% were breast cancer.

In fact, breast cancer is on the rise in Latinas.

Between 2012 and 2021, Latina breast cancer increased by 1.6% annually, compared to 1.1% annually in white women.

When it comes to cervical cancer, Latinas had a 36% higher incidence rate than white women.

Additionally, Latinas had about twice the incidence of stomach and liver cancers.

Deaths caused by uterine cancer were also on the rise.

Over the last decade, Latina uterine cancer deaths increased 2% to 3% every year, compared to 1% in white women.

In Latino children, leukemia is the dominating form of cancer with incidence higher in Latino children and adolescents than in any other racial or ethnic group.

“It is nearly 2 times higher than in those who are Black (59.4% versus 30.2 per million), who have the lowest rates, and about 30% higher than those who are white,” according to the report.

Latinos and Cancer

Latinos and other people of color suffer from significantly higher rates of cancer than their white counterparts.

There are many reasons for this, but much of it has to do with the non-medical drivers of health.

Decades of structural and racial inequities in housing, education, and access to healthy foods have created systemic barriers to healthcare, including preventative care such as cancer screenings.

In fact, there is a much lower prevalence of cancer screenings in Latinos compared to white individuals, according to the American Cancer Society report.

White individuals have an 80% prevalence of cervical cancer screenings, compared to Latinos at 69%.

Breast cancer screening prevalence for Latinos is 60% versus 65% for white individuals.

When it comes to colorectal cancer screening, Latinos have a prevalence of 52%, compared to 61% for white individuals.

Accompanied by a higher likelihood of poverty and language barriers, this puts Latinos and other minority populations more at risk for life-threatening health conditions.

Due to some of these inequities, Latinos and other marginalized people are more likely to develop certain risk factors such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity — all of which put you at risk for cancer.

Latino Cancer Risk Factors

There are many risk factors associated with cancer, making it one of the leading causes of death among Latinos.

Risk factors for cancer include infectious agents, unhealthy diet, inherited genetic mutations, hormones, certain medical conditions, and tobacco use, according to the American Cancer Society report.

Tobacco use in general has a large impact on Latinos.

US-born Latinas are 3 times more likely to smoke (8%), compared to foreign-born Latins (3%) whereas smoking has a 12% prevalence in US-born Latino men, compared to 11% of foreign-born.

When compared to White adults, Latinos have a 40% lower smoking prevalence.

For Latino high school students, cigarettes have a prevalence of 2% and a 10% prevalence for e-cigarettes.

Smoking continues to be a leading risk factor for cancer death (29%) and other diseases such as heart disease.

Those who quit tobacco use can see their risk of heart disease cut in half within the first year of stopping and those who kick the habit before 40 will see a 90% decrease in the risk for premature death, according to a Salud America! report.

If you want to quit smoing, Quitxt is a bilingual service from UT Health San Antonio and the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas that sends texts messages to smartphones to help South Texas adults quit smoking.

Messages from Quitxt help with motivation to quit, setting a quit date, handling stress, and using nicotine replacement, if needed.

To join Quitxt in English, text “iquit” to 844-332-2058.

For Spanish, text “lodejo” to 844-332-2058.

“There’s no better time than now to stop smoking with help from Quitxt,” said Dr. Amelie Ramirez, director of Quitxt and Salud America! at UT Health San Antonio. “Quitting smoking is proven to improve your health, increase your life span, and save money.”

Preventative Medicine and Latinos

At greater health odds, Latinos should be taking preventative measures to decrease their chance of developing cancer.

But the truth of the matter is that Latinos are being diagnosed at later and more advanced stages of cancer, which can be costly in more ways than one.

Being diagnosed at a later stage greatly decreases your odds of survival as well as being more expensive and more aggressive to treat.

For instance, 60% of Latinas are diagnosed at an earlier stage of breast cancer compared with 68% of white women, according to the American Cancer Society report.

What’s more, Latinos are less likely to be diagnosed with localized-stage cancer at 42% versus 46% of white individuals.

The cancer least likely to be diagnosed at a localized stage was melanoma at 65%, compared to 78% of white individuals.

“The largest disparity in 5-year relative survival is for melanoma, which is 83% in [Latino] people versus 94% in white people, reflecting later stage and more aggressive disease, as well as barriers to care,” according to the report.

Another way Latinos are disproportionately impacted by higher rates of cancer is their lack of access to life-saving cancer care.

Much of that has to do with insurance.

Latinos are still among some of the highest uninsured populations in the US, leading to delayed cancer care.

Of adults between the ages of 18 and 64, 28% of Latinos are uninsured compared to 8% of white individuals, according to the ACS report.

Another preventative measure available is the HPV vaccine, which protects individuals from certain types of cancer, including cervical cancer, according to ACS.

Many Latinos are now being vaccinated for human papillomavirus, or HPV.

“In 2021, 65% of [Latino] adolescents ages 13-17 were up to date with HPV vaccinations in comparison to 60% of white adolescents,” according to the report.

How Do We Decrease the Incidence of Cancer in Latinos?

One of the best ways to improve cancer outcomes for Latinos is to increase diverse clinical trial representation.

Clinical trials are studies with volunteers that test ways to find, prevent, and treat cancer and other diseases. They may also help improve the quality of life for volunteers affected by cancer or reduce the side effects of treatment.

And the truth of the matter is that there are just too few Latinos enrolled in clinical trials.

Despite making up 19.5% of the US population, Latinos comprise just 10% of participants in clinical trials run by the National Cancer Institute and 4% of drug trials run by the FDA.

In fact, only 1 in 5 diagnosed with cancer will seek a clinical trial, according to a Salud America! report.

Another way to improve cancer outcomes for Latinos is to increase their participation in research studies, like the research study involving cancer survivorship at UT Health San Antonio.

The Avanzando Caminos Hispanic/Latino Cancer Survivorship study is looking to enroll 1,500 Latino cancer survivors in South Texas to help unpack the social, cultural, behavioral, mental, biological, and medical influences on post-cancer life.

Those eligible to participate will be age 18 or older, be able to communicate in English or Spanish, and have completed primary treatment for breast, colon, kidney, liver, lung, prostate, stomach or cervical cancer.

Potential volunteers can visit the Avanzando Caminos website to fill out a quick survey in English or Spanish or contact a member of the study team at 210-562-6514 or caminos@uthscsa.edu.

To find out more about clinical trials, visit the Salud America! clinical trials page.

In San Antonio, search the Mays Cancer Center at UT Health San Antonio’s Find a Clinical Trial database to learn more about available clinical trials and eligibility requirements.

Nationally, visit clinicaltrials.gov to find a clinical trial near you.