Cancer rates for Malays, Chinese rising

News Article
Cancer rates for Malays, Chinese rising
Saturday, 06 l 03 l 2010 ; Source: The Straits Times
By Sandra Davie
THE spectre of the BIG C may loom larger for the Chinese but cancer rates are also fast rising for Malays here. National University of Singapore epidemiologist Chia Kee Seng notes that between 1968 and 1972, only 96 Malay males per 100,000 and 97 females per 100,000 developed cancer. But from 2002 to 2006, the figure had jumped by over a third to 135 per 100,000 males and 166 per 100,000 females. For Indians, the cancer incidence rate actually dropped. From 1968 to 1972, it was 124 males per 100,000 and 182 for females. From 2002 to 2006, the rates fell to 119 and 128. Professor Chia, who heads the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine at NUS, explains that it is difficult to make comparisons in the case of Indians because of the small numbers involved. But he adds that the lower incidence of cancer among Indians may simply be due to competing causes of death and disease that need to be investigated further. For example, Indians may be dying of other causes, such as heart disease, before cancer even has a chance to strike. A study published on the relatively lower cancer incidence among Singapore Malays by NUS Professor Lee Hin Peng in 2004 suggests that it could be due to genetic factors or closer adherence to traditional values and lifestyles. The less prevalent adoption of the “Western lifestyles” by the Malay population could explain their lower risk of cancer, the study concludes. For example, Malay women have much lower rates of cervical cancer, which is believed to occur more frequently in women with multiple sex partners. Meanwhile, overseas studies on the lower risk of cancer among Indians or South Asians suggest that it may have to do with more of them being vegetarians. Some studies suggest that the spices used in Indian cooking, especially tumeric, may protect against cancer. Last year medical researchers in Britain reported that tumeric can destroy oesophagus cancer cells – at least in a laboratory. Previous research has shown that curcumin, an ingredient found in tumeric, induces “cell death” in malignant cells.
Different races, different cancers THE Singapore Cancer Registry report highlights some of the different cancers and how the risk rates vary among the three ethnic groups in Singapore. OVARIAN CANCER: One of the few cancers for which Malays have a higher risk than Chinese – on average, 10 per cent to 20 per cent higher than for Chinese. PROSTATE CANCER: Indian men appear to be at much lower risk than the Chinese. However, over time, all ethnic groups have seen a rise in rates. Prostate cancer is now the third most common cancer among Malay and Indian men, after lung and colorectal cancer. NON-HODGKIN’S LYMPHOMA: This cancer of the lymphoid tissue, which includes the lymph nodes, spleen and other organs of the immune system, is one of a few for which Malays have significantly higher risk – 30 per cent to 50 per cent higher – than the Chinese. Indians have the lowest risk, but small numbers make comparisons difficult. MOUTH CANCER: The incidence among Indians in Singapore is higher than the other ethnic groups, especially among females. Researchers have linked this to betel nut and tobacco chewing. But as these habits become less common, the number of such cases has dropped. BREAST CANCER: Malay and Indian women are about 20 per cent less likely to develop breast cancer than Chinese women. Two major risk factors for breast cancer are low fertility and the use of hormone replacement therapy. COLON CANCER: The risk of Malays and Indians contracting this type of cancer is only between 30 per cent and 50 per cent that of the Chinese. LUNG CANCER: Indians in Singapore have the lowest risk of contracting lung cancer – only 20 per cent to 40 per cent the risk of their Chinese counterparts. Malays fall somewhere in between Indians and Chinese, probably a reflection of the higher number of smokers among the Malays.