Characterizing cancer patterns in Okinawan vs. mainland Japanese Americans: The Multiethnic Cohort Study
Medrxiv : the Preprint Server for Health Sciences
|August 12, 2025
Summary
Japanese Americans from Okinawa and mainland Japan show distinct cancer rates. Okinawan women had higher breast cancer risk, while men had lower aggressive prostate cancer risk, suggesting factors beyond lifestyle influence these disparities.
Area of Science:
- Epidemiology
- Genetics
- Nutritional Science
Background:
- Cancer incidence rates differ between Okinawa and mainland Japan.
- Limited data exist on cancer rate disparities in Japanese Americans of Okinawan versus mainland descent.
- Previous studies indicate potential differences in lifestyle and environmental factors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate cancer incidence differences between Okinawan and mainland Japanese Americans.
- To compare body composition and blood biomarkers between these two groups.
- To explore potential contributing factors to observed cancer disparities.
Main Methods:
- Utilized dimensionality reduction and surname analysis to identify 24,484 Multiethnic Cohort Japanese American participants of Okinawan or mainland descent.
- Employed Cox proportional hazards models to compare cancer incidence.
- Analyzed circulating blood biomarker levels and body composition in subsets of participants.
Main Results:
- Okinawan participants exhibited higher BMI, better diet quality, higher energy intake, more alcohol consumption, and were never smokers compared to mainland Japanese.
- Okinawan women had a higher likelihood of breast cancer (HR=1.36), while Okinawan men had a lower likelihood of aggressive prostate cancer (HR=0.67).
- Okinawans showed lower adiponectin and higher C-reactive protein, visceral adipose tissue area, and VAT-to-subcutaneous adipose tissue area ratio.
Conclusions:
- Cancer incidence disparities observed in Japanese Americans align with trends reported from Japan.
- Body composition, genetics, or unmeasured factors may contribute to cancer risk differences, not solely lifestyle.
- Further research is needed to elucidate the complex interplay of factors influencing cancer risk in these populations.
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