Low Cancer Risk of South Asians: A Brief Report

South Asians (ancestry in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, or Sri Lanka) may have lower cancer risk than other racial-ethnic groups.

To supplement published cohort data suggesting low cancer risk in South Asians.

Logistic regression models with 7 covariates to study cancer mortality through 2012 in 273,843 persons (1117 South Asians) with baseline examination data from 1964 to 1985.

Cancer mortality.

Through 2012, death was attributed to cancer in 28,031 persons, of which 1555 were Asians, including 32 South Asians. The all-Asian vs white adjusted odds ratio was 1.0, and the South Asian vs white odds ratio was 0.5 (p < 0.001). In separate regressions, South Asians were at lower risk than blacks, Chinese, Filipinos, Japanese, or other Asians. The South Asian-white disparity was concentrated in men but was generally similar when strata of smoking, body mass index, baseline age, and date of death were compared.

These data support the observation that compared with whites and other Asian groups, South Asians, especially men, have a lower risk of cancer.